Who is qualified to diagnose Parkinson's?

Who is qualified to diagnose Parkinson's?

Neal Hermanowicz (Director of the Movement Disorders Program) gives expert video advice on: What are some of the other names for Parkinson's?; Who is at most risk for getting Parkinson's? and more...

To diagnose Parkinson's, any physician who is familiar with the clinical presentation or even other clinicians such as nurse practioners who are familiar with the symptoms that people who have Parkinson's Disease develop initially as well as the findings and the examination would be qualified. Most neurologists through their training during their residency in neurology will have some exposure to this. It can be tough to diagnose. I do this day in, day out and I still see cases almost everyday that I am not quite if sure they have Parkinson's Disease or not. The reason it is tough is there isn't any test yet that confirms or rules out the diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease. Brain scans, MRIs and so forth are not reliable Even some of the functional imaging like PET scans or SPECT scans are not entirely reliable in terms of establishing a diagnosis. So the diagnosis remains on a clinical basis meaning the symptoms that we elicit talking to the patient and the things that we see on the examination.