UPDRS

What is a Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)?

The Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale is a tool to evaluate the different aspects of Parkinson’s disease and gauge its severity and progression in a patient.

The test itself has six sections, namely:

• Mentation, Behavior, and Mood
• Activities of Daily Living
• Motor Examination
• Complications of Therapy in the Past Week
• Modified Hoehn and Yahr Staging
• Schwab and England Activities of Daily Living Scale

In each of the first four sections, raters must observe the patient diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and give a score from 0 to 4, with 0 being the highest and 4 the lowest. Under the particular section of “Activities of Daily Living,” the rater must remember to differentiate the scores between a patient in the ON state and a patient in THE OFF state. For the final two sections, the practitioner must decide at which stage of the disease the patient is and how much in percentage can the patient live independently.

How does this UPDRS Scale work?

Interested in utilizing this UPDRS Scale? Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to download and use our digitally editable and printable template.  

Step One. Access the Template

Access the template by clicking the “Use Template” or “Download Template” in this guide or searching “UPDRS Scale” in Carepatron’s template library on the website or app. 

Step Two. Conduct the Test

Though it isn’t mentioned nor specified, the practitioner can consider the first two sections - “Mentation, Behavior, and Mood” and “Activities of Daily Living” - as self-questionnaires. They can ask the patient and their caregiver to rate the patient accordingly. Should the patient prefer that the practitioner be the one to answer, the practitioner then must ask for the patient’s conditions based on the scoring descriptions provided under the sections. 

The rest of the sections require the practitioner to ask the patient to do some exercises and observe the patient’s response, reaction, etc. For example, the practitioner may ask the patient to converse with them or provide an elaborate answer to a question to test their speech. 

Step Three. Check the Scores and Interpretations

Once the practitioner and patient are finished with the test, the practitioner may proceed with interpretation. The scores obtained may be used by the practitioner to provide patients with a disease prognosis, or they also may be used by researchers to formulate and check the effectiveness of Parkinson’s disease-modifying therapies.

Scoring

A practitioner can score sections 1 to 3 using the provided 0-4 rating scale. They simply have to observe their patient’s response and choose the corresponding number that matches. As for the last two sections, the practitioner must choose which stage their patient is at and their percentage of independence. To obtain the final score, the practitioner must total the scores from the first 4 sections.

UPDRS example (sample)

Here’s an example of a filled-up Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) to help you, your patient, and their caregiver complete the assessment. 

Want an offline copy you can use as a reference in the future? Click the “Download Example PDF” button above.

Download this Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Example (Sample) here:

When to use these UPDRS tests?

A practitioner and researcher can use a UPDRS test when they are:

• Knowing the progression of the patient’s signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease to provide a disease prognosis to the patient

• Monitoring a patient’s response to medications, they take to decrease Parkinson’s disease’s signs and symptoms in a patient
• Formulate and assess if any of the therapies undergoing clinical trials are effective or not. 

A practitioner or researcher can also use the scale to determine which aspect needs further observation or intervention in the form of management. 

Who is this Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale PDF for?

Any practitioner or researcher who specializes in or studies Parkinson’s disease or any professional caring for patients with Parkinson’s disease will find a PDF copy of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) beneficial. To specify, here’s a list of who the scale and template are designed for:

• General Practitioner
• Neurologists
• Geriatricians
• Parkinson’s Disease nurses
• Therapists (Speech, language, occupational, physio)

Caregivers who are with the patient may also find this scale and template useful. However, they are only encouraged to participate during the self-questionnaire portion of the test or when the practitioner requests more information. 

Benefits of these free Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Templates

The scores obtained may be used by the practitioner to provide patients with a disease prognosis. They also may be used by researchers to formulate and check the effectiveness of Parkinson’s disease-modifying therapies. 

Early Recognition

Since the purpose of this scale is to provide patients with a disease prognosis,, practitioners can use this test and template to confirm if the patient indeed has Parkinson’s. 

Establish a Baseline for Comparison

Once the disease has been recognized, a baseline can be easily established with the same scale and template. One simply has to write the date of diagnosis so it may be used as the baseline other practitioners can refer to. 

Tracking Progression

Whether one’s patient decides to undergo disease-modifying therapies or not, this test can be used to check how quickly a disease progresses. This information is essential in formulating a treatment or management plan for the patient. 

More Insight into Your Patient’s Condition

When designing a treatment or management plan, knowing which aspect to target will make the intervention more effective. By using this scale and template, practitioners can better identify which aspect interferes with the patient's daily routine and social activities and, consequently, design a more targeted strategy. 

Saves Time and Money

There are benefits to having an easily downloadable and digitally editable UPDRS scale template. Practioners can save time and money printing out copies and storing them afterward since one can access our template on any gadget they have on hand and store them right in the secure Carepatron app. 

Why use this UPDRS app?

Aside from providing this guide and a template for the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Carepatron can also equip you with the tools to streamline business and clinical processes so you can accomplish administrative tasks easily. As a result, you can dedicate most of your time and effort to tasks related to patient care. 

Not familiar with Carepatron? No worries!

Carepatron is a leading software management platform in the healthcare industry. You can access it as an application on your desktop and iOs, or Android phone. If you sign up, you can easily take advantage of the free features available to you, such as:

• Over 100 editable and printable templates in PDF form of surveys, tests, assessments, and more. 
• A HIPAA–compliant and secure EHR for all your digital notes and additional documents related to your client. 
• Access to multiple scheduling and telehealth software applications integrated right into your dashboard
• An automated payment system you can set up for your client

All these and more if you give Carepatron a try today!

Reference

Holden, S., Finseth, T., Sillau, S., & Berman, B. (2017). Progression of MDS-UPDRS Scores Over Five Years in De Novo Parkinson Disease from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative Cohort. Movement Disorders Clinical Practice, 5(1), 47-53. doi: 10.1002/mdc3.12553.