Dr Kenneth Friedman submits evidence to the US Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee (CFSAC) which he hopes will stimulate a long overdue, effective, national ME/CFS Medical Education program:

Introduction:

ME/CFS presents a medical education challenge in the United States.[1]   Perhaps because it is an illness diagnosed by a patient’s report of symptoms, with variable pathophysiological findings among patients, and no known biomarker to support a diagnosis, many healthcare providers doubt a physical basis of the illness. The questioned etiology of ME/CFS in the minds of practicing physicians may discourage the inclusion of ME/CFS in medical school curricula. [2]  But others factors, such as disproportionately lower research funding for this illness,[3] and the majority of research studies being statistically underpowered, [4] make curriculum development difficult.

Recently, the credibility of some published data and their interpretation has been challenged, and the data only opened to public inspection after court order. [5]

The federal government has both directly and indirectly contributed to the lack of medical education and medical education materials.

Read more for details of the history of medical education for ME/CFS in the US.

Download: Meeting the ME/CFS Medical Education Challenge Testimony for the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee (CFSAC), by Kenneth J. Friedman, Ph.D. January 2017