News Release: MDS Earns 2018 ASAE Power of A Gold Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Elizabeth Clausen
eclausen@movementdisorders.org
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The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society Earns
2018 ASAE Power of A Gold Award for Asynchronous Consultation for Movement Disorders Initiative

MILWAUKEE, WI – The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) has earned a 2018 Power of A Gold Award for its Asynchronous Consultation for Movement Disorders (ACMD) initiative which supports African physicians in their treatment of movement disorders by providing expert consultation on case-management from volunteer physicians associated with MDS.

The American Society for Association Executives (ASAE) honored the program in which MDS collaborated with the Ontario Telemedicine Network, MedWeb, and the African Academy of Neurology to help provide access to specialists in nations with limited resources for healthcare.

ACMD provides state of the art access to care that is otherwise unavailable in underserviced regions in Africa through the use of telemedicine. Additionally, the ACMD project has facilitated the engagement of physicians located in different time-zones across the globe through its asynchronous model. The program also serves as an educational tool for local physicians on movement disorders as they interact with movement disorders specialists in other areas of the world.

“The Asynchronous Consultation in Movement Disorders project committee is very honored to be the recipient of the ASAE Power of A Gold Award under the category ‘The Power to Make a Better World,’” said ACMD Project Chair, Mark Guttman, MD, FRCPC. “The project was designed to improve the care of patients with movement disorders by mentoring local physicians in Africa. Our committee voluntarily evaluates telemedicine cases from a number of countries in Africa as an educational program. I would like to thank the project and Telemedicine Task Force members and staff in helping us try to ‘Make a Better World’ through telemedicine with support from MDS.”

In 2012, the MDS Task Force on Africa estimated that up to half of patients with Parkinson’s disease are undiagnosed. Even properly diagnosed patients faced issues of the availability, affordability and sustainability of treatment. With the results of a recent needs assessment, ACMD has expanded to 32 active sites across ten countries, including but not limited to: Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Ghana and Cameroon.

ASAE’s Power of A (association) Awards, the industry’s highest honor, recognize the association community’s valuable contributions on the local, national and global levels. The Power of A Awards reward the outstanding accomplishments of associations and industry professionals who work tirelessly to strengthen lives, the workforce, our systems and structures, the economy and the world.

About the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society:
The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS), an international society of over 7,000 clinicians, scientists, and other healthcare professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. For more information about MDS, visit www.movementdisorders.org.