Rick Graham, a patient living with Parkinson’s disease, is now able to share regular updates about his condition with his Cedars-Sinai care team through a mobile app, rather than waiting for quarterly appointments. This change follows a $5 million donation from the Elaine and Eduardo Saverin Foundation, which supports expanded use of the Kneu Health app at Cedars-Sinai.
“I use it every other day, at different times of the day, and I hope that helps the care team have a better idea of how my medication is working,” Graham said. “I enjoy it. It keeps me thinking about what I might be able to do better to help myself.”
The Kneu Health app allows patients like Graham to perform exercises and enter information on symptoms such as tremors, balance issues, sleep quality, and memory. The data is automatically sent to Cedars-Sinai’s electronic medical record system and provides summaries for physicians. Alerts are triggered if there are signs of increased risk, such as falling.
Michele Tagliati, MD, vice chair of Neurology and director of the Movement Disorders Division at Cedars-Sinai, explained: “At each checkup you ask a patient who has a neurological disorder and may be in their 70s or 80s how they’ve been doing for the past three to six months. And you base your whole treatment plan on what they tell you.” He added that with more frequent data from the app, doctors can intervene sooner if necessary: “This allows us to intervene instead of waiting for the patient’s next visit. Rather than unknowingly having a patient spend months on a medication that isn’t working or having them end up in the emergency department because of a fall, we can change their medication or have them use a walker.”
Graham finds the app easy to use and appreciates being able to choose when he checks in.
The foundation’s gift will also allow Cedars-Sinai to hire three physician assistants or nurse practitioners dedicated to monitoring over 800 Parkinson’s patients treated by the hospital. These staff members will also assist hospitalized patients with Parkinson’s disease who are admitted for unrelated reasons.
Elaine Saverin, chairwoman of the foundation, stated: “We’re supporting Cedars-Sinai’s Parkinson’s disease program because it addresses a critical gap in care by ensuring that patients maintain their quality of care even in outpatient settings. Technological innovations like the Kneu Health app can have profound ripple effects for thousands living with Parkinson’s.”
Cedars-Sinai has implemented an electronic dashboard so its neurology team can monitor hospitalized Parkinson’s patients more closely and ensure proper medication management during their stay.
“When a patient with Parkinson’s disease is admitted to Cedars-Sinai, we want to make sure the neurology care team knows about it,” Tagliati said. “These patients are at risk of prolonged hospital stays or other complications if their prescribed medications aren’t given on time, or if they are prescribed medications that can be harmful when taken with Parkinson’s medications.”
Kneu Health took part in Cedars-Sinai’s Accelerator Program in 2024; recently Cedars-Sinai Intellectual Property Company invested in Kneu Health as well.
“This innovative approach to treating people with Parkinson’s disease is something that is done at only a few hospitals around the country,” said Nirdesh Gupta, PhD, managing partner in the Cedars-Sinai Intellectual Property Company. “Thanks to the Elaine and Eduardo Saverin Foundation, the participation of our patients and advances in technology, we now have the opportunity to improve the standard of care for Parkinson’s patients here at Cedars-Sinai and ultimately on a global scale.”
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center was founded in 1902 and is located in Los Angeles https://www.cedars-sinai.org/about.html. The hospital treats tens of thousands each year across various specialties including pediatrics; its president is Thomas M. Priselac.
