RADBOUDUMC
The Center of Expertise for Parkinson and Movement Disorders is part of the department of Neurology, Radboud university medical center (Radboudumc). The Center receives nation-wide referrals and evaluates ~500 new Parkinson patients each year. The Center is recognised from 2005 onwards as a centre of excellence for Parkinson’s disease. ParkinsonNet, which is part of the Center of Expertise, is an innovative healthcare concept that now consists of 70 professional networks, with 3,200 specially trained health professionals for Parkinson’s disease patients, covering all of The Netherlands (www.parkinsonnet.nl).
People
Bas Bloem
MD, PhD, Professor of Neurology
Professor Bas Bloem is a consultant neurologist at the department of Neurology, Radboud university medical center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Here he is the director of the Center of Expertise for Parkinson and Movement Disorders. In addition to his clinical work, he has a broad research interest, related to: (1) the clinical presentation of falls and axial motor disability in neurodegenerative disorders; (2) cerebral compensatory mechanisms, using functional MRI to separate primary dysfunctional circuits from those involved in adaptive brain plasticity; and (3) healthcare innovation, aiming to develop and scientifically evaluate patient-centred collaborative care. He has shown in a series of clinical trials that the ParkinsonNet concept, leads to better health for patients, to fewer disease complications, and to substantially reduced healthcare cost for society. His other main contribution here has been to establish the merits of non-pharmacological interventions in the field of neurodegenerative diseases. Finally, he is well-recognized for his work on patient-centeredness.
Marjan Meinders
PhD, senior research fellow
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