Partnership and cooperation is necessary to improve and expand neurology.

BACKGROUND: Brain disorders have a large impact on society, representing one third of the total burden of disease. Neurology is more than before divided into fields of highly specialized branches.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the need for co-operation in neuromedicine to achieve optimal results for patient treatment, diagnosis and care.

DISCUSSION: Co-operation regarding patients with disorders in the brain and nervous system should involve medical specialists, general practitioners, other professionals, patients and carers. Optimal co-operation represents both an institutional and personal challenge. The principle of joint action between several subspecialists should also have consequences for educational systems and requirements. Formalised co-operation is well established in medical research, and principles for good practice in neuroscience have relevance also for clinical medicine. How to organise the optimal treatment is therefore not only a challenge for neurologists, but also for the total health system within hospitals and in society.

CONCLUSION: Open-handedness and a willingness to co-operate should be a hallmark for neurologists.