The Parkinson's Companion
- Guest Writer
- Feb 13
- 3 min read
A new free app designed to give people living with Parkinson’s greater control over their condition launches today, as diagnoses continue to rise in the UK and globally.
The Parkinson’s Companion app has been developed to support both patients and clinicians, helping to simplify consultations, improve communication and ensure more consistent, personalised care. Around 166,000 people are currently living with Parkinson’s in the UK, with someone diagnosed every 20 minutes - a figure expected to rise significantly in the coming decades.
The app has been co-created by leading Parkinson’s specialist Professor K Ray Chaudhuri, alongside international experts. It’s also been shaped by the lived experience of people with the condition including Sir Nicholas Mostyn, a retired High Court judge who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and has been closely involved in the app’s development.
Drawing on years of clinical expertise and patient insight, The Parkinson’s Companion addresses the reality that Parkinson’s is a complex condition with more than 40 possible symptoms, often leaving patients feeling overwhelmed and uncertain about their care. The app aims to restore a sense of autonomy by helping people better understand their symptoms and take a more active role in consultations.
The Parkinson’s Companion consists of two key elements. The first is a diagnostic aide-memoire, designed for use by both clinicians and patients, which focuses on five core Parkinson’s “vitals” that should be covered at every consultation. This helps clinicians ensure nothing is missed, while empowering patients to raise concerns or symptoms that may otherwise go unaddressed.
The second part of the app focuses on wellbeing and day-to-day management, offering short, accessible exercise videos designed to support mobility, mask symptoms and potentially help slow disease progression.
By standardising what should be discussed during appointments, the app is designed to improve the likelihood of faster, more accurate diagnosis and more effective treatment. The concept has been tested extensively on paper in the UK and internationally before being developed into a digital tool.
The Parkinson’s Companion is free to download and available now via app stores. Search for “The Parkinson’s Companion”. Developed on a pro bono basis, it reflects a collaborative effort between clinicians and people living with Parkinson’s to create a practical tool grounded in real experience.
Sir Nicholas Mostyn said: “This app will be a true companion to a patient referred to a clinician for a diagnosis. It will help to ensure that the patient understands the procedure fully and if the diagnosis is unhappily positive what the consequences are likely to be. It will enable the patient to start an appropriate exercise regime. I know that in my case an intensive exercise regime has not only masked the most obvious of the symptoms but has slowed down the progression of the condition.”
Professor K Ray Chaudhuri said: “Parkinson's disease is not a single disease and is in fact a complex condition with layers of movement-related, non-movement-related and what we call the vitals of Parkinson's. Sadly in clinical practice the vitals are often not recognised or managed properly. Our app, which will be the first such app in the world, is a dashboard that will inform all people with Parkinson's about their own vitals such as bone health, oral health, gut health, vision health in addition to allowing them to sel- help while the healthcare professionals are also informed.”
NB: There will be a slight delay before the Android version of The Parkinson's Companion is available on the Google App Store. This is because we have been required late in the day to change the account type having regard to the contents of the app. We are waiting to see if the testing cycle has been reset to two weeks. If so, then that will be the delay; if not, as we hope, it should be available shortly. If you just cannot wait (!) then we can make you a tester which will give you access to the app immediately. For this purpose you should give your name and email address on the attached form.
