News from Austria and Switzerland

[Chandelier]

ME/CFS: Wenn Hilfe neu gedacht werden muss

Wie können Menschen mit ME/CFS angemessen versorgt werden, wenn selbst alltägliche Aktivitäten, Gespräche oder Berührungen ihren Gesundheitszustand verschlechtern können? Dieser Frage widmete sich der erste ME/CFS-Fachkongress der CS Caritas Socialis am 1

www.ordensgemeinschaften.at

Google Translate

Austria.
1600-word article.
This looks like a potentially worthwhile read.

Machine translation:

---

ME/CFS: When Help Needs to be Rethought​

How can people with ME/CFS be provided with appropriate care when even everyday activities, conversations, or touch can worsen their health condition?​

​

This question was the focus of the first ME/CFS specialist congress organized by CS Caritas Socialis on October 13, 2026, in the Pharmacist's Wing of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. Under the theme "Attitude – Knowledge – Action," experts from medicine, nursing, science, and ethics discussed new care models, existing gaps in care, and the societal responsibility toward those affected.​

​

It became clear that not only is more research needed, but also a fundamental change in how severely ill people are treated.​

Subheadings:

• Giovanni Maio: Developing a Culture of Care
• A Look at Norway: Specialized Care for the Most Severely Affected
• Michael Stingl: Early Recognition, Appropriate Treatment
• CS Nordlicht: Care Must Adapt to the Individual
• New ME/CFS Clinic for Vienna Unveiled
• Sandra Leiss: Taking the Perspective of Those Affected Seriously
• Family Members Also Need Support
• Eduard Spörk Prize Recognizes Journalistic Achievement

 

[Yann04]

Ambulanz für ME/CFS-Betroffene ab 2027 in Wien

In Wien soll Mitte 2027 die erste Ambulanz für postakute Infektionssyndrome (PAIS) eröffnen. Sie wird damit Anlaufstelle etwa für Menschen mit ME/CFS (Myalgische Enzephalomyelitis/Chronisches Fatigue Syndrom) bzw. Long-Covid, wie am Dienstag in der Bürgermeister-Pressekonferenz erläutert wurde...

www.sn.at

Google Translate

Machine translation:

A lot of this looks very good, though I am of course apprehensive of hearing "therapeutic and psychosocial professions". Hopefully it’s not what I think it is.

 

[Chandelier]

PVA-Mitarbeiter für Sozialministeriums-Schulung engagiert

Nach breiter Kritik an den Begutachtungen - v.a. an jenen der PVA - hat das Sozialministerium eine Fortbildung für Gutachter des Sozialministeriumservice initiiert. Für einen Vortrag über die "Herausforderungen in der Begutachtung von postakuten Infektionssyndromen (PAIS) und chronischem...

www.sn.at

Google Translate

Austria.
850-word article.

Quite entertaining to read how they try to weasel themselves out of this.

Machine translation:

PVA [Pension Insurance Institution] employee engaged for Ministry of Social Affairs training

Following widespread criticism of assessments—particularly those by the PVA [Pension Insurance Institution]—the Ministry of Social Affairs has initiated continuing education for assessors of the Social Ministry Service. A PVA [Pension Insurance Institution] employee was engaged to give a presentation on the "challenges in the assessment of post-acute infectious syndromes (PAIS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)." Criticism came from the patient advocacy group ÖG ME/CFS [Austrian Society for ME/CFS], which also lamented the lack of involvement of those affected in further reforms.

October 15, 2026, 5:08 AM
Reading time: 3 minutes

The Chief Medical Assistant of the PVA [Pension Insurance Institution] Vienna was engaged for the topic of PAIS and ME/CFS assessments; in recent professional presentations, he had emphasized the difficulty of objectifying ME/CFS and PAIS. "A solution to the cited problem areas in the assessment of PAIS and ME/CFS is not in sight," he wrote, for example, in a professional article published by Manz Publishing in the spring.

Criticism of the Selection of Speakers

In a written statement in response to an inquiry from the APA [Austria Press Agency], the ÖG ME/CFS [Austrian Society for ME/CFS] complained that the continuing education webinar held on September 30, according to the program, was conducted "without discernible professional involvement" from the National Reference Center for Post-Viral Syndromes at the MedUni Wien [Medical University of Vienna]. "At the same time, individuals were appointed as speakers whose previous positions on ME/CFS have provoked significant professional criticism," the society stated.

The patient organization referred not only to the involvement of the PVA [Pension Insurance Institution] employee but also to that of the second speaker: the head of the neurology department of the Tulln University Hospital was scheduled for the topic "Post-infectious Syndromes from a Neurological Perspective." The ÖG ME/CFS [Austrian Society for ME/CFS] pointed to his co-authorship of a professional journal article published in 2023 ("Der Nervenarzt"), in which "a psychosomatic etiology of ME/CFS was explicitly put forward for discussion"—which at the time had led to sometimes clear criticism, including within the professional community.

 

[Chandelier]

PVA-Mitarbeiter für Sozialministeriums-Schulung engagiert

Nach breiter Kritik an den Begutachtungen - v.a. an jenen der PVA - hat das Sozialministerium eine Fortbildung für Gutachter des Sozialministeriumservice initiiert. Für einen Vortrag über die "Herausforderungen in der Begutachtung von postakuten Infektionssyndromen (PAIS) und chronischem...

www.sn.at

Google Translate

Austria.
850-word article.

Quite entertaining to read how they try to weasel themselves out of this.

Machine translation:

Austria.

ORF-Radio

Das digitale Radioangebot des ORF. Alle öffentlich rechtlichen Radiosender Österreichs auf einer Plattform. Live und 7 Tage lang im Stream on Demand.

oe1.orf.at

From Twitter:
Machine translation:

---

Constanze Ertl @ErtlConstanze
The Ministry of Social Affairs has invited an assistant to the chief medical officer at the PVA—which has come under criticism over its medical assessments—to train assessors from the Social Ministry Service on the serious illness ME/CFS. Today also on Ö1.

The head of the responsible department at the Ministry of Social Affairs says: “The PVA employee was selected as a speaker in his capacity as a specialist in neurology. Working at the PVA does not mean that one lacks the relevant expertise.”
​

---

 

[Chandelier]

PVA-Mitarbeiter für Sozialministeriums-Schulung engagiert

Nach breiter Kritik an den Begutachtungen - v.a. an jenen der PVA - hat das Sozialministerium eine Fortbildung für Gutachter des Sozialministeriumservice initiiert. Für einen Vortrag über die "Herausforderungen in der Begutachtung von postakuten Infektionssyndromen (PAIS) und chronischem...

www.sn.at

Google Translate

Austria.
850-word article.

Quite entertaining to read how they try to weasel themselves out of this.

Machine translation:

From the Austrian ME/CFS association on Twitter:
Machine translation:

Ö. Ges. für ME/CFS @oeg_mecfs
Four requests for a meeting. Still no follow-up meeting.

While key questions about care and social security remain unresolved for tens of thousands of people with ME/CFS, the ÖG ME/CFS has requested a meeting with the #Gesundheitsministerium four times in 2026 alone. No follow-up meeting has taken place to date.

At the same time, significant questions about the future of the #PAIS Action Plan remain unanswered under the federal target-setting process.

And now training sessions on ME/CFS and PAIS are taking place without a professional presentation from the National Reference Centre for Postviral Syndromes (NRZ), which was established specifically for this purpose—while people whose previous statements on ME/CFS have prompted significant professional criticism are involved.

This paints a worrying picture for us:

People affected are waiting.
Meetings are not taking place.
Recognised expertise is not being adequately brought in.
Existing structures are not being questioned consistently.

The problems that people with ME/CFS have been reporting for years in the area of social law, particularly in their dealings with the PVA, also need a political response at last.

Institutions are not ends in themselves.

When structures fail people who are seriously ill, the structures must be changed—not the people affected made to fit them.

We see just how urgent this is for ourselves: the support fund we set up together with LICHT INS DUNKEL and @RadioFM4 had to close to new applications just six and a half hours after it was announced, after receiving more than 150 requests for funding.

A patient organisation cannot make up for what the health and social care systems fail to provide.

We expect Health Minister @SchumannKorinna and State Secretary Ulrike #KönigsbergerLudwig to change course, resume dialogue and set a clear priority:

People who are seriously ill do not need institutions that protect one another. They need institutions that protect them.

 

[Chandelier]

ME/CFS-Betreuung: Welche Angebote nun notwendig sind

ME/CFS-Betroffene brauchen mehr als eine Ambulanz. Warum aufsuchende Versorgung, spezialisierte Hilfe und bessere Strukturen entscheidend sind.

www.furche.at

Google Translate
Austria.
650-word article.

Seems to be a good article.
I'm lacking the energy to summarize properly.

ME/CFS care: What services are needed now

People with ME/CFS need more than an outpatient clinic. Why outreach care, specialized support, and better structures are essential.

By Lisa Haderer

On October 13, CS Caritas Socialis in Schönbrunn hosted the first specialist conference on ME/CFS. For us, that day was more than a professional conference. It was a sign that a group of people who often live literally in the dark are finally becoming more visible within the care system.

That experience led to the creation of “CS Nordlicht.” At CS Caritas Socialis, we have begun building a specialized form of support that meets people where they actually live: at home, and, when necessary, right at their bedside. Counseling, nursing, social work, support for family members, coordination, and trained volunteers work together. People should not have to be made to fit our system. Care must be designed to reach them.

An outpatient clinic can build expertise and monitor treatment. But it will not reach those who are so severely ill that they cannot leave their beds.

The author is an ME/CFS expert in nursing and care at “CS NORDLICHT.”

 

[Chandelier]

ME/CFS und Long Covid: Neuer Lehrgang in Graz gestartet

Ein neuer Universitätslehrgang an der MedUni Graz vermittelt Wissen zu postviralen Syndrome für bessere Diagnostik und Therapie von Betroffenen.

www.kleinezeitung.at

Paywall.

Machine translation:

---

ME/CFS and Long COVID: New university program launched in Graz​

A new university program on post-viral syndromes has launched at Medical University of Graz.​

​

© MedUni Graz/Lunghammer​

Program director Thomas Weber, Vice-Rector for Studies and Teaching Erwin Petek, and deputy program director Andrea Grisold (from left to right)​

 

[Chandelier]

Austria.

From Bluesky.
Machine translation:

---

Michael Stingl @neurostingl.bsky.social​

An interesting webinar where one will likely get a good sense of the direction in which #ME/CFS care in Lower Austria will evolve.​

​

Dr. Sabine Hermisson @sabinehermisson.bsky.social​

Has any of the speakers ever made a #MECFS diagnosis ... ?​

---

Webinar: PAIS – Postakute Infektionssyndrome

www.arztnoe.at

Google Translate

Website:

Webinar: PAIS – Post-acute Infection Syndromes
Seminar Number: 11061 / Continuing Education ID: 1072193
Training Date
Fri, Nov 20, 2026
3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Location
Webinar
DFP
Medical Credits: 3
Participation Fee
Participation is free of charge!

Post-acute infection syndromes (PAIS), which include Long COVID and ME/CFS, among others, present major challenges to the healthcare system and particularly to primary care.

Many affected individuals suffer from persistent symptoms that are often difficult to categorize, significantly impairing their quality of life and ability to work. This makes early detection, a structured diagnostic workup, and coordinated, needs-based care all the more important. Current scientific findings on PAIS will be presented in three lectures.

Persistent symptoms following viral illness: the diagnostic process in primary care (MR Dr. Susanne Rabady)
Aspects of PAIS care from a neurological perspective (Prim. Univ. Prof. PD Dr. Walter Struhal)
PAIS – from a psychiatric perspective (Prim. Univ. Prof. PD Dr. Martin Aigner)
Registration absolutely required!

Via livestream – the link will be sent in due time before the date!

Speaker
MR Dr. Susanne Rabady [MR Dr. Susanne Rabady, Vice President of the Austrian Society for General and Family Medicine]

Prim. Univ. Prof. Prof. h.c. PD Dr. Walter Struhal, MSc, FEAN [Clinical Department of Neurology, UK Tulln-Klosterneuburg]

Prim. Univ. Prof. PD Dr. Martin Aigner [Clinical Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, UK Tulln-Klosterneuburg]

 

[Chandelier]

Switzerland.

However, the School Health Services’ current information on “Hygiene measures to protect against flu and other infectious diseases” shows that there is no intention to learn from the Covid-19 pandemic and that handwashing continues to be promoted against highly contagious airborne diseases.

From Bluesky:

#ProtectTheKids (Schweiz) @protect-the-kids.ch
Covid in children & adolescents and the associated risks of long-term effects.

Is there a tacit political agreement among the authorities not to inform the public either about the ongoing coronavirus risks for children and adolescents or about appropriate protective measures?

Interpellation 25.4361: Prävention im Bereich respiratorisch übertragbarer Krankheiten

Prävention gegen Langzeit- und Spätfolgen luftübertragbarer Krankheiten: Nach dem Bundesrat präsentieren wir unsere Sicht auf die Herausforderungen.

protect-the-kids.ch

The widespread denial of ongoing coronavirus risks, including for young people, is evident in politics and society. In Switzerland, parents have virtually no up-to-date information from the authorities about the risks of repeated SARS-CoV-2 infections for children and adolescents.

With this evidence-based overview of current risks posed by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 to children and adolescents, and of appropriate protective measures, #ProtectTheKids is helping to close these information gaps.

SARS-CoV-2 und Covid – Risiken und Schutzmassnahmen für Kinder und Jugendliche - #ProtectTheKids

Eine evidenzbasierte Übersicht für Eltern. #ProtectTheKids, Oktober 2026. Die Verdrängung anhaltender Corona-Risiken auch für Kinder ist in Politik und Gesellschaft weit verbreitet. In der Schweiz stehen Eltern praktisch keine aktuellen Behördeninformationen zu den Risiken von...

protect-the-kids.ch

The evidence-based overview for parents, newly published by #ProtectTheKids, was produced as part of an unsuccessful exchange with the School Health Services of the City of #Zürich, which we describe transparently below and on our website.

SARS-CoV-2 und Covid – Risiken und Schutzmassnahmen für Kinder und Jugendliche - #ProtectTheKids

Eine evidenzbasierte Übersicht für Eltern. #ProtectTheKids, Oktober 2026. Die Verdrängung anhaltender Corona-Risiken auch für Kinder ist in Politik und Gesellschaft weit verbreitet. In der Schweiz stehen Eltern praktisch keine aktuellen Behördeninformationen zu den Risiken von...

protect-the-kids.ch

An evidence-based overview for parents. #ProtectTheKids, October 2026. The widespread denial of ongoing coronavirus risks, including for children, is evident in politics and society. In Switzerland...

protect-the-kids.ch/sars-cov-2-und-covid-risiken-und-schutzmassnahmen-fuer-kinder-und-jugendliche#entstehung-des-uebersichtsbeitrags

The School Health Services of the City of Zürich were a commendable exception to the Swiss authorities’ generally evident policy of not informing the public: until February 2026, they provided information about the “new” coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and the effects of Covid in children and adolescents.

Krankheiten im Kindesalter

Informationen zu ansteckenden Krankheiten, chronischen Krankheiten und weiteren Krankheiten und Beschwerden, die bei Schulkindern auftreten können.

www.stadt-zuerich.ch

For example, an information sheet noted that SARS-CoV-2 infections can also lead to Long/Post-Covid-19 in children and adolescents, and therefore to prolonged health problems.

It was also positive that the information stated that, for children aged five and over …

… a well-tolerated Covid vaccine is approved and available, and reliably protects against severe illness.

Unfortunately, however, it did not mention that the annually updated Comirnaty vaccines also provide partial protection against infection and #LongCovid for a limited period.

Studien zur COVID-Impfung bei Kindern und Jugendlichen

Aktuelle Studien zur COVID-19-Impfung für Kinder und Jugendliche und insbesondere zur Wirksamkeit gegen Infektion und Long COVID.

protect-the-kids.ch

Moreover, the City of Zürich’s well-intentioned information about the “vaccination offer” was at odds with the fact that the Federal Commission for Vaccination Issues #EKIF and @bag.admin.ch are making it increasingly difficult for prevention-oriented families to access coronavirus vaccination for children.

Avatar
#ProtectTheKids (Switzerland)
@protect-the-kids.ch
Update on the lack of Covid prevention for children in #Switzerland and the associated health risks.

The #EKIF and @bag.admin.ch continue to make it more difficult for prevention-oriented families to access updated Covid vaccines for children and adolescents.

Since the information sheet from the School Health Services of the City of Zürich had evidently not been updated for years, #ProtectTheKids prepared an expanded version, updated to reflect the state of scientific knowledge, as an overview of current risks and appropriate protective measures.

In early March 2026, #ProtectTheKids submitted the expanded text to the School Health Services as a proposal for publication, specifically highlighting the positive aspects of the existing information sheet.

Unfortunately, the evasive response from the School Medical Service on 27 March 2026 …

… confirmed our fear of a tacit political agreement among the authorities not to inform the public either about the ongoing coronavirus risks for children & adolescents or about appropriate protective measures.

In response to our …

… evidence-supported assessments, the School Medical Service resorted to evasions and showed no willingness to revise its outdated, at times downplaying assessments in light of findings that are in line with the scientific consensus, but which the authorities have withheld from the public for years.

At least the School Medical Service of the City of Zürich promised to examine “how we can provide general, easy-to-understand information on preventing airborne diseases on our website—for example, about room ventilation, basic hygiene rules, or the importance of air quality in classrooms.”

However, the School Health Services’ current information on “Hygiene measures to protect against flu and other infectious diseases” shows that there is no intention to learn from the Covid-19 pandemic and that handwashing continues to be promoted against highly contagious airborne diseases.

Link preview
Childhood diseases

Information about infectious diseases, chronic diseases, and other illnesses and complaints that can affect schoolchildren.

www.stadt-zuerich.ch/de/gesundheit/kinder-und-jugend/krankheiten-kinder.html

To ensure transparency, we are publishing the email exchange with the School Health Services of the City of Zürich on our website, along with our evidence-based overview for parents entitled “SARS-CoV-2 and Covid – Risks and protective measures for children and adolescents.”

Avatar
#ProtectTheKids (Switzerland)
@protect-the-kids.ch

With this evidence-based overview of current risks posed by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 to children and adolescents, and of appropriate protective measures, #ProtectTheKids is helping to close these information gaps.

SARS-CoV-2 und Covid – Risiken und Schutzmassnahmen für Kinder und Jugendliche - #ProtectTheKids

Eine evidenzbasierte Übersicht für Eltern. #ProtectTheKids, Oktober 2026. Die Verdrängung anhaltender Corona-Risiken auch für Kinder ist in Politik und Gesellschaft weit verbreitet. In der Schweiz stehen Eltern praktisch keine aktuellen Behördeninformationen zu den Risiken von...

protect-the-kids.ch

 

[forestglip]

Heute: "5,000 patients per year – Vienna opens new outpatient clinic"

"Good news for people with ME/CFS and Long Covid: The first Viennese specialist outpatient clinic for post-acute infection syndromes is being built in Floridsdorf."

English translation | Original | October 18, 2026

 

[rvallee]

It's a start. What's most remarkable is how they want to see 5K patients per year, which seems either very optimistic, or indicates a low level of care, on the backdrop of 60-70K estimated patients, so not even 10%, a number that constantly shifts as some die, some recover or improve, but new people develop it every day.

Hopefully it's a model. Frankly it doesn't take much to get the ball rolling here, but this remains a constant when it comes to chronic illness: it never scales to the need, not even close, not even 10%, and that's generous. What's most needed is solutions that can be applied without having to personalize everything. Personalized medicine doesn't work unless it's automated, the therapist model is not viable, no health care system in the world has the capacity for this.

This is why drugs rule. The pharmaceutical industry has huge problems of its own but at least it works. When a drug is effective the cost per treatment drops as production ramps up. The opposite happens with a therapist model, more therapists require more administration, facilities, training and so on.

I don't know what happened for even the medical profession to develop this aversion to medication because they are literally the perfect delivery format. This preference for a therapy model is so backwards and weird.

 

[rvallee]

Not sure how influential the Medical Association for Styria is, but they published guidelines on Long Covid and ME/CFS.

News - Ärztekammer Steiermark : Ärztekammer Steiermark

Leitlinie ME/CFS Im Rahmen der Veranstaltung „Nur müde oder steckt doch mehr dahinter? ME/CFS erkennen und versorgen – im Kontext postakuter Infektionssyndrome (PAIS)“ am 22.10.2026 wurde die Leitlinie vorgestellt. Leitlinie Oktober 2026

www.aekstmk.or.at

 

[bicentennial]

This new Vienna clinic will be headed up by Dr. Martin Komenda-Lett, a neurologist with a stroke unit. On https://neurolett.at/ there is an educational comic. The first comic strip illustrates the guess and belief that there are potential causes, likely causes, and probable causes, as observed. Here is the Lett comic strip:

* in English
* in German

Intro:

"Millions of people worldwide suffer from the mysterious disease ME/CFS. Although this disease has been known in the medical world for decades, little attention has been paid to it until now.

As a result, those affected have often disappeared unnoticed from public life and have been left alone to cope with the illness.

In other cases, a lack of understanding and the wrong therapies have led to an irreversible worsening of the symptoms.

This comic aims to raise awareness about this issue. Hopefully in the future, patients will be diagnosed correctly and spared years of suffering.

This comic also aims to promote acceptance and recognition of ME/CFS in society, so that patients are finally taken seriously and get the help they so urgently need."

I am not sure about the irreversible bit, but for the foreseeable future. People who override autonomy can bring about a catastrophic decline, it seems without understanding what they are doing. Medicine and therapy were always risky, sometimes more dodgy than it looks.

 

[bicentennial]

Towards integrated people-centred health services:
- patient-reported experiences of post-COVID care
- in Austria (in Zusamenfassung and English)

Spoiler: Authors

- Karen Laureen Pesta MBA,
- Timothy Hasenöhrl Mag. Bakk.,
- Mohammad Keilani MSc,
- Martin Bauer MMag.
- Richard Crevenna MBA, MSc, MSc

The authors recommend accessible and continuous service (what went missing). They indicate that the Austrian outpatient system does not suffice, and the burden of post-Covid is heavy all round. Post-Covid is "a consequence of the pandemic"

Spoiler: Survey detail, statistics and comment

"The development of specialized centres, such as those planned and initiated by the Austrian Federal Government and the City of Vienna, should be a priority. Pushing ahead with the planned implementation makes sense from both a medical and economic perspective.

"The aim of this study was therefore to systematically record the care experiences of long COVID patients in Austria; to identify key challenges; and, based on international concepts—in particular the WHO framework Integrated People-Centred Health Services (IPCHS)—to provide orientation points for patient-centred, continuous and accessible care [9].

"One of the first measures in Austria was development of a guideline to enable patient care in the outpatient sector [5]. Furthermore, practical recommendations were provided [6].

"Nevertheless, it is not unusual for long COVID patients to be dissatisfied with the treatment options in their healthcare system, for example in Great Britain, Canada or the USA [7, 8]."
-----------------------
What a strange way to say it. Is this supposed to characterise the illness, the clients or the service.

Zusammenfassung

Hintergrund
Diese Studie untersuchte die Perspektiven von Patient:innen und setzte die Ergebnisse in Bezug zum WHO-Rahmenwerk für integrierte, personenzentrierte Gesundheitsdienste bei österreichischen Patient:innen mit Post-COVID-Symptomen.

Methoden
Eine Online-Umfrage wurde unter Patient:innen mit Post-COVID-Syndrom durchgeführt. Die Daten von 312 Teilnehmenden wurden analysiert, um strukturelle Dimensionen der Versorgungserfahrung zu identifizieren.

Ergebnisse
Die Stichprobe bestand überwiegend aus Frauen (83,7 %).
Die meisten Teilnehmenden berichteten über eine reduzierte Lebensqualität (82,0 %) und anhaltende Beeinträchtigungen im Berufsleben (65,4 %).
Die finanzielle Belastung war erheblich;
43 % gaben Ausgaben von über 10.000 € an.
Als Barrieren wurden ein Mangel an spezialisierten Zentren (90,7 %),
unzureichende Informationen zur Behandlung (86,2 %)
und begrenzte Unterstützung durch die Krankenkassen (67,0 %)
wahrgenommen.
Die Faktorenanalyse bestätigte vier Dimensionen
– Patientenzentrierung und Individualisierung
- Wirksamkeit und Unterstützung
- Qualität und Kontinuität
- sowie Zugänglichkeit
die 53,9 % der Varianz erklärten (KMO = 0,924).
Geschlechtsunterschiede waren nicht signifikant.

Schlussfolgerung
Patienten mit Post-COVID-Symptomen empfinden die medizinische Versorgung in Österreich als unzureichend. Die geplante Einrichtung spezialisierter Zentren ist daher sowohl aus medizinischer als auch aus wirtschaftlicher Sicht sinnvoll.

Summary

Background
This study examined patient perspectives and related the findings to the WHO framework for Integrated People-Centred Health Services in Austrian patients suffering from post-COVID symptoms.

Methods
An online survey was conducted among residents suffering from post-COVID-19 syndrome. Data from 312 participants were analyzed to identify structural dimensions of care experience.

Results
The sample was predominantly female (83.7%).
Most participants reported reduced quality of life (82.0%)
and lasting work impairment (65.4%).
Financial strain was substantial,
with 43% reporting >€10,000 in expenses.
Perceived barriers were lack of specialized centers (90.7%),
insufficient treatment information (86.2%),
and limited insurance support (67.0%).
Factor analysis confirmed four dimensions
- patient-centredness & individualization,
- efficacy & support,
- quality & continuity
- accessibility
explaining 53.9% of variance (KMO = 0.924).
Gender differences were not significant.

- except that men spend more on services

Conclusion
Patients suffering from post-COVID symptoms perceive patient care in Austria as unable to adequately meet their needs

Statistics:

female
(83.7%)
median age
43 years
(interquartile range, IQR 36–52).

Approximately
42.0% in rural communities (< 10,000 inhabitants)
19.2% in medium-sized cities (10,000–100,000 inhabitants)
38.8% in large cities (≥ 100,000 inhabitants)

Case duration 1–2 years (45.5%)
Case duration up to 3 years (64.1%)
- text is prone to name the case as "symptoms"

Life quality
82.0% rather poor or very poor
2.2% good quality of life.

90% frequent impairment of ability to work
65.4% permanent limitation
- text qualifies this as: "experienced" permanent limitation

90.1% depend on family care or assistance.
43% expended at least € 10,000
18.9% expended over € 20,000
- more often men spend more

Moderate correlation between reduced quality of life and reduced work capacity (rs = 0.47; p < 0.001), and between higher financial burdens and lower quality of life (rs = 0.40; p < 0.001).

Patients "perceived" deficient healthcare.
----------------------
Why can't the authors say that patients reported it? That's an objective observation. Who saturated the world with this gaffe about perception being in the eye of the beholder, so no-one can report anything?

90.7% cited a lack of specialized centres (90.7%) and insufficient information 86.2% cited insufficient information about treatment options
79.8% report difficulties accessing specialists
79.8% reported high additional costs
- for non-reimbursed therapies and medications
----------------------------------
Aha, that can be reported without the slur on perception. So one can "report" the access problem and extra costs, but one can only "perceive" a deficient health service. That is not called a report. It is a "dissatisfaction".

"In addition to the individual burdens, this patient population reported its dissatisfaction with the existing healthcare situation. Comparable critique has been reported in Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada, where patients describe long waiting times, lack of multiprofessional structures and discontinuity of care [10].

"This illustrates that the challenges are not limited to Austria but apply to numerous healthcare systems [5]"
-------------------------------
Well, well, did it happen in Austria as in the UK, when the incorporated ideology of corporations decided from the off to discontinue care, discharge contagion into care homes, speed it up, then stick to the plan to chop off long-term care for all chronic conditions rebranded as "long-term conditions needing short-term service", as if no chronic conditions need ongoing continuous care?

This ended a long UK tradition of ongoing continuous service for chronic conditions. No more long-term care for long-term conditions, and why not? Why? Because it is the new convention that's why. It was ordained. Amen

All these signs of seeming mismanagement, incompetence and inanity, but there may be method in madness, and the results achieved are to stall and discontinue service, dismantling service networks.

Well, well, did it happen in Austria as in the UK, when the incorporated ideology of corporations decided from the off to discontinue care, discharge contagion into care homes, speed it up, then stick to the plan to chop off long-term care for all chronic conditions rebranded as "long-term conditions needing short-term service", as if no chronic conditions need ongoing continuous care?

This ended a long UK tradition of ongoing continuous service for chronic conditions. No more long-term care for long-term conditions, and why not? Why? Because it is the new convention that's why. It was ordained. Amen

All these signs of seeming mismanagement, incompetence and inanity, but there may be method in madness, and the results achieved are to stall and discontinue service, dismantling service networks.

The survey concludes:

- men spend more on services

- the people are spread between rural areas, small cities, and big cities

- the pandemic aftermath burdens people, society and the economy

- apparently the outpatient services are disabled too

- the federal government and city of Vienna planned and initiated specialised centres so now such centres must be developed as a priority

 

[rvallee]

Treating Long Covid with Brain Training: What's Behind It?

A therapeutic approach to long Covid splits sufferers like professionals. The idea: The brain had learned the symptoms in a first phase of illness and could unlearn them again with mental exercises. While Some Speak of Cure, Others Warn of Health Risks

Long Covid mit Hirntraining behandeln: Was steckt dahinter?

Ein neuer Therapieansatz bei Long Covid weckt Hoffnung auf Heilung. Doch Fachleute warnen vor gesundheitlichen Risiken.

www.srf.ch

---

It's 1996, and vague "brain retraining" pseudoscience dominates the landscape of contested chronic illnesses
It's 2006, and vague "brain retraining" pseudoscience dominates the landscape of contested chronic illnesses
It's 2016, and vague "brain retraining" pseudoscience dominates the landscape of contested chronic illnesses
It's 2026, and vague "brain retraining" pseudoscience dominates the landscape of contested chronic illnesses
...

 

[Yann04]

Treating Long Covid with Brain Training: What's Behind It?

Long Covid mit Hirntraining behandeln: Was steckt dahinter?

Ein neuer Therapieansatz bei Long Covid weckt Hoffnung auf Heilung. Doch Fachleute warnen vor gesundheitlichen Risiken.

www.srf.ch

---

It's 1996, and vague "brain retraining" pseudoscience dominates the landscape of contested chronic illnesses
It's 2006, and vague "brain retraining" pseudoscience dominates the landscape of contested chronic illnesses
It's 2016, and vague "brain retraining" pseudoscience dominates the landscape of contested chronic illnesses
It's 2026, and vague "brain retraining" pseudoscience dominates the landscape of contested chronic illnesses
...

Urgh I hate this kind of

Take terrible opinion/outrageous claim
Take denial of that

Platform both.

Come to “common sense nuance” conclusion that terrible/outrageous thing is half true.

 

[Chandelier]

Treating Long Covid with Brain Training: What's Behind It?

Long Covid mit Hirntraining behandeln: Was steckt dahinter?

Ein neuer Therapieansatz bei Long Covid weckt Hoffnung auf Heilung. Doch Fachleute warnen vor gesundheitlichen Risiken.

www.srf.ch

---

It's 1996, and vague "brain retraining" pseudoscience dominates the landscape of contested chronic illnesses
It's 2006, and vague "brain retraining" pseudoscience dominates the landscape of contested chronic illnesses
It's 2016, and vague "brain retraining" pseudoscience dominates the landscape of contested chronic illnesses
It's 2026, and vague "brain retraining" pseudoscience dominates the landscape of contested chronic illnesses
...

What’s rule number one for every clinician?
That’s right: avoid the void at all costs!
Offer anything but the void, even tarot sessions are better than nothing.
Machine translation:

Other hospitals, such as Lucerne Cantonal Hospital, are now adopting this approach, even though its benefits for Long Covid have not been scientifically established. Lara Diem, a neurologist at Lucerne Cantonal Hospital, attributes this to the general sense of helplessness in the face of the illness: “Let’s be honest: there is very little evidence when it comes to Long Covid, and if we worked only on the basis of evidence, we wouldn’t be able to offer patients anything at all.”

Interesting, a case of a Pain Reprocessing Therapy practitioner with LC who had to learn the hard way that this is not The Way Out.
Machine translation:

Chantal Britt also fears that people with Long Covid may exceed their limits by using the neuroplastic approach and harm themselves as a result. Sara Pezzotta is convinced that this is exactly what happened to her. She has been on sick leave because of Long Covid since 2023.

The physiotherapist, yoga teacher and meditation instructor has a degree in neuroscience and meditation, as well as training in the so-called Pain Reprocessing Therapy. Meditation and mindfulness exercises were already part of her everyday life before she developed Long Covid, and later they also helped her cope better with the illness without becoming overwhelmed by fear.

“Because of my training and my work as a physiotherapist, I know the neuroplastic approach to treating chronic pain very well,” she explains. So when she hears that the approach is also supposed to work for Long Covid, she does not hesitate: “I immediately believed that my symptoms could be explained solely by a dysregulation of the nervous system, and that I could therefore recover through brain training, regardless of the biological processes underlying my symptoms.”

She steps up her meditation practice and also pursues other mind-body approaches, such as Somatic Tracking, hypnosis and breathing exercises. At first, because she believes her symptoms are caused only by her brain, she stops pacing—a practice that is central for people with Long Covid. Pacing is meant to help them avoid exceeding their very limited energy reserves by adjusting all mental and physical activity to their reduced capacity.

Sara also begins exercising cautiously. “With Long Covid, exceeding that energy limit can lead to post-exertional malaise, in which symptoms worsen after a delay, sometimes lasting for several weeks or even months,” warns Long Covid expert Gregory Fretz.

Several crashes in a row can even lead to a lasting deterioration in someone’s condition. As a result, Sara Pezzotta is bedridden for several months in early 2024. “Because I stopped paying attention to my limits, I had repeated crashes and lost some of my muscle strength, which I still haven’t been able to regain.”

Sara has since resumed pacing. She says that mindfulness meditation, breathing exercises and self-hypnosis can help people cope better with the illness, but emphasizes: “That doesn’t mean Long Covid is caused exclusively by neuroplastic processes, let alone that everyone affected can be cured by these methods.” Letting go of that idea was crucial for Sara, allowing her to become open again to other therapeutic approaches that take better account of the illness’s physiological complexity.

 

[rvallee]

“Let’s be honest: there is very little evidence when it comes to Long Covid, and if we worked only on the basis of evidence, we wouldn’t be able to offer patients anything at all.”

To get the product of the work, you gotta do the work. If you don't do the work, you don't get the product. You didn't do the work. Do the damn work. Not succeeding quickly doesn't mean the work isn't worth doing, but you're never getting anywhere with this as long as you refuse to do the work, which here includes recognizing that you majorly screwed us.

Do the damn work.