Should there be separate care programs for Long-Covid patients? Please discuss

So in the hypothetical that a program already exists for ME patients, should there be a separate program for Long-COVID patients? This is in the context of socialized medicine where patients with ME are treated with CBT and symptom management.

Why or why not? Please discuss.

 

Given, at least here in the UK, what little evidence we have is that the current ME/CFS specialist services are unhelpful or even potentially harmful, I agree with @Trish that I would not wish the current specialist services inflicted on anyone, including people with Long Covid. The current UK ME/CFS services have failed to develop any collective understanding of the needs of their patients and failed to refer those with identifiable meet-able needs on to other services, be it managing Orthostatic Intolerance, food intolerances, welfare and benefits advice, etc, etc.

Given there are currently no effective interventions for ME/CFS or for Long Covid, any specialist services need a completely different model of service delivery to what we currently see. I believe we need to start from scratch and it is probably in the best interests of people with Long Covid to, in the short term, develop their own original models of service provision.

 

So here in Canada, 110 millions for COVID has been allocated for research - most of it would be for vaccine development, infection control, and bio research. it would be fair to think that some of this research money or additional money will go to Long-COVID, but not to ME.

In my view, patients with Long-COVID need to be assessed side by side with ME patients. The longterm management should reflect the knowledge already accrued in the ME field so no harm is perpetrated to them, and inversely, if these patients are offered pharmacotherapy to alleviate their long term symptoms, that patients with ME can benefit from that as well.

If the 2 patient groups were allowed to 2 very different pathways, the physicians following Long-COVID patients may be infectious disease specialists, autonomic doctors, pulmonologists, kinesiologists, and whatever else top of the line dream team may be formed.

In the parallel universe where the local program has a 2 year wait time for patients with ME and only see the dr once, maybe twice, and then are pushed into group sessions to manage their symptoms, and then returned to their GP for care for the rest of their lives.

The benefit of having a “post-viral” combined service is to share knowledge, to advance research, to compare natural courses of disease, and to benefit from medical talent in understanding the pathology, for all.

Both groups benefit from each other’s knowledge: ME physicians and patients know about OI and POTS, PEM, managing symptoms, how to pace, etc. POST-COVID patients inform about the early stages of ME when the disease is installing itself in the body, providing critical information in understanding pathogenesis. Acute care is just as necessary as chronic care, where the most severe also have access to care (which is not the case here), regardless whether you are 2 months into your illness or 8 years.

 

I'm listening to all the treatments that Donald Trump received, and how he has 'recovered' so far. He received an experimental antibody IV cocktail, antiviral and steroid medication all within 2 days. Wow.

I wonder if I was given an antiviral early on during my onset whether I would have had a different outcome?

 

When i was diagnosed with EBV i have asked my dr for anti-virals and she said no. Almost 12 years ago.

 

A doctor on CNN this morning was discussing "VIP syndrome":

a “VIP syndrome” has been recognized. It occurs when a very important person (VIP) is admitted to a health care facility and the status of that person affects decisions about medical care.