National surveys: a way to manage treatment strategies in Parkinson's disease? Pharmaceutical prescribing patterns and patient experiences of symptom control and their impact on disease.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to draw conclusions from patient-reported experiences in two national surveys from Scandinavia with the intention of comparing treatment strategies and increasing our knowledge of factors that affect the experiences of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). 

METHODS: A total of 2000 individuals in Sweden and 1300 in Norway were invited to complete postal surveys covering PD-related issues. Patient experiences of diagnostic procedures, symptom control, and follow-up in PD and the effects on symptom-related quality of life were collected. Pharmaceutical prescription data on anti-PD drugs and administrative data were collected from national registries. 

RESULTS: The surveys were completed by 1553 (78%) of the Swedish cohort and 1244 (96%) of the Norwegian cohort. Only small differences were seen in disease duration and age distribution. Statistically as well as clinically significant differences in symptom control, diagnostic, and follow-up procedures, as well as in pharmacological treatment and impact on quality of life, were found between the national cohorts independent of disease duration. 

CONCLUSION: Information from separate national surveys has the potential to increase our knowledge of patient experiences in PD and can be used to compare, evaluate, educate, and guide health care staff and administrators in optimizing health care for patients with the disease.