Author response: Utilization of rehabilitation therapy services in Parkinson disease in the United States.

Abstract

We thank Drs. Bryant and Protas for the comment on our article,1 and for pointing out their supportive study.2 Together, our data suggest that underutilization of rehabilitation therapies in Parkinson disease (PD) is persistent and pervasive. During the time period of these 2 studies, several randomized controlled trials were published that supported the use of rehabilitation therapies in PD.3,4 Improvements in mobility, activities of daily living, speech volume, and quality of life were demonstrated in these and other studies. This is another example of the gap between PD research and implementation. The barriers to dissemination of proven treatments need to be addressed for PD outcomes to improve.