One in three people with Parkinson's disease (PD) will be admitted to the hospital every year. Common reasons include infections, cardiac issues, injuries from falls, dementia-related behavioral issues, and elective surgeries.
Hospitalization can be challenging for PD patients and stressful for caregivers. The neurologist who manages your PD medications may not have privileges at the hospital where you are admitted. Hospital physicians and nursing staff may have limited experience with PD and may not understand critical aspects of care, such as the importance of precise medication timing or which commonly prescribed drugs can worsen PD symptoms.
Planning ahead can help. Understanding your rights, preparing medication schedules, and knowing what to expect during hospitalization can reduce complications. Discharge planning is equally important. Whether going home, to a rehabilitation center, or to a residential facility, having a comprehensive care plan in place is critical to recovery and well-being.
Short Overviews on Hospitalization
Ask the MD: Being in the Hospital with Parkinson’s
By Rachel Dolhun, MD. Published by The Michael J. Fox Foundation, July 13, 2022
Having Parkinson’s does increase the risk of hospitalization. But that doesn’t mean it’s inevitable. This short article shares several steps you and your loved ones can take to make hospital visits as safe and productive as possible.
Hospitalization
By Stanford Parkinson's Community Outreach Program, June 2024
This six-minute video shares how to advocate for yourself or someone with Parkinson's in the hospital to get PD medications on time, stretch, and exercise safely in the hospital, and maintain the medication regimen prescribed by your neurologist.
How People with Parkinson’s Disease Can Minimize Risks During Hospitalization
By American Parkinson Disease Association, August 5, 2025
A 2023 study found that PD patients are more prone to medical errors and worse experiences during and after hospitalization. This article discusses the different problems that can arise in PD hospitalization and how to best deal with each situation to reduce these risks.
Hospital Safety Guides
Hospital Safety Guide
Published by Parkinson's Foundation, 2023
This 68-page booklet helps readers understand the risks people with PD face in the hospital, prepare to play an active role in the hospital before a crisis occurs, organize care information to use in the hospital (whether a planned or emergency visit), and provides step-by-step instructions to get your PD needs met.
Related webinar: Hospital Safety, December 14, 2023
Related webinar: Safe Movement in the Hospital, October 2, 2024
Expert Talks
Hospitalization and Parkinson's
By Parkinson's Community Los Angeles, August 27, 2023
In this one-hour webinar, movement disorder specialist Adrienne Keener, MD, speaks about the hospital environment and preventable medical errors, reasons people with PD are hospitalized, medication Issues, advice to patients, infections, delirium, falls, low blood pressure, blood clots, neuropsychiatric symptoms, DBS or Duopa, caregiver challenges, advice for caregivers, and what to bring to the hospital.
Hospitalization and Parkinson's: What to Do, What to Know
By PMD Alliance, December 8, 2020
In this one-hour webinar, movement disorder specialist Stephen Reich, MD, talks about what you need to know in order to advocate for your care and make the hospitalization experience better.
Hospitalization in Parkinson’s Patients: Important Tips to Know
By University of Florida Health, September 10, 2019
In this 45-minute lecture, Dr. Joseph Legacy presents tips for patients and caregivers to keep in mind when patients need to spend time in the hospital.
How To Navigate A Safe Hospitalization with Parkinson's
By Neuro Challenge, March 2023
The information in this 30-minute talk by a movement disorder specialist applies not only to hospitalization, but wherever someone else is taking over your medication management (rehab, hospice, assisted living, etc). The speaker offers tips to get PD medication on time, avoid PD medication switching, avoid cessation of PD medications, and avoid contraindicated medications.
Management of Parkinson's Disease In The Hospital
By Michigan Parkinson Foundation, January 16, 2025
This one-hour webinar explains how the impacts of hospitalization disproportionately impacts those with Parkinson's disease (PD) and the complications that can arise from hospitalization, before sharing key interventions to prevent those complications.
Navigating Hospitalizations with Parkinson's
By PMD Alliance, June 2, 2022
In this one-hour webinar, movement disorder specialist Michael Okun, MD, lists specific actions you can take to ensure the best outcome possible, whether your hospitalization is planned or an emergency room visit.
Hospital Discharge Planning
California's Discharge Planning Law
Published by the California Hospital Association
This five-page document is the text of California's discharge planning law, which went into effect on January 1, 2019 as part of the California Health and Safety Code. It requires that each hospital shall have a written discharge planning policy and process and states each patient's rights in detailed, clear language.
Discharge Planning
By Paula R. Patel and Samuel Bechmann. Published in StatPearls, April 3, 2023
This article discusses the goals, considerations, and complexities of discharge planning. In the United States, discharge planning is required for hospital accreditation. Proper discharge planning reduces the rate of unplanned readmissions and/or complications, which may decrease the healthcare system's financial burden and correlates with a lowered readmission rate within 30 days, which directly affects reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid. Patient loyalty to return to the same hospital for readmission is associated with the quality of discharge planning.
Discharge Planning: Rights and Procedures for Medicare Beneficiaries in Various Care Settings
Published by Center for Medicare Advocacy
This lengthy article discusses in detail what discharge planning plans for, what the hospital is supposed to do to prepare a patient and their primary caregiver for discharge, how you should be notified of your patient rights regarding discharge, and how to argue being discharged.
Discharge Planning is a Family Affair
By Family Caregiver Alliance, March 7, 2019
Expert speakers in this one-hour webinar discuss regulatory issues that may affect hospital stay and discharge, why discharge planning is important and why family caregivers should be involved in decisions, important features of a good discharge plan, factors in making decisions about post-acute care, and who can help when problems arise.
Hospital Discharge Planning
By Stanford Parkinson's Community Outreach, June 2024
This three-minute video talks about what to do if you or someone you love is being discharged from the hospital when the primary caregiver is uncomfortable performing medical tasks or the home has not been adequately prepared.
Hospital Discharge Planning
Published by Kaiser Permanente, July 11, 2023
Along with four short videos on the topic, this page provides an overview of what hospital discharge planning is, tips for communicating with the hospital care team and discharge planner to get all the information you need in writing for your loved one's best care at home or a care facility, and what to do if you don't feel ready for discharge.
Hospital Discharge Planning: A Guide for Families and Caregivers
Published by Family Caregiver Alliance
This series of webpages offers information, tools, and resources for caregivers navigating the transition from hospital to home or a care facility, including legals issues affecting caregivers, keys to a successful transition, suggestions for improving the discharge process, checklists to help ensure the best care, and tips to remove barriers and encourage meaningful communication between you, the doctor, and other health care practitioners.
How to Fight a Hospital Discharge
By Trisha Torrey. Published by Very Well Health, February 16, 2020
This article is primarily for people who are not on Medicare, although there are some useful links for those who are. It explains why discharge is the decision of your insurance provider and what to do in situations when you should stay longer in the hospital.
Leaving the Hospital - Your Discharge Plan
Published by Medline Plus, July 21, 2022
This simple explanation of hospital discharge makes suggestions for deciding where you will go when you leave the hospital to receive appropriate continuing care, medical equipment you may need, and a short discharge checklist of what a comprehensive discharge plan should include.
Your Discharge Planning Checklist
Published by Medicare, March 2024
Use this six-page checklist throughout your hospitalization to prepare for discharge. Talk to your doctor and the staff about the items on the checklist. Check the box next to each item when completed. Use the notes column to write important information. Also included are tips to choosing a home health agency or nursing home, what to do if you think you’re being discharged too soon, space for your drug list and appointment schedule, and resources for community services and long term care planning.
Resources for Healthcare Professionals
Consensus Statement for the Optimization of Parkinson's Medicines in Hospital
Published by Parkinson's UK, August 1, 2025
The consensus statement includes a medicines optimisation algorithm outlining how to ensure people with Parkinson’s get the medication they need, questions to ask on admission, management of non-oral medications, supporting a good hospital admission for people with Parkinson’s, an admissions checklist, building the case for medicines optimisation for people with Parkinson’s, and evaluating practice of medicines optimisation for people with Parkinson’s
Parkinson’s Disease: Moving Forward - Hospitalization and Parkinson’s Disease
Published by ATrain Education
This comprehensive page sites references showing higher admission rates and longer hospital stays for Parkinson’s patients; hospital-related issues; risk factors for deterioration in hospital; medication issues; increased risk for aspiration; mobility, falls, fractures and other medical issues; perceptions of hospital care and the Parkinson’s Foundation’s Hospital Safety Guide.
Last updated October 2025 by Stanford Parkinson's Community Outreach.