Emerge Australia offers official position statements on specific subjects of relevance to the Australian ME/CFS community and Health Professionals.
Emerge Australia strongly advocates for the Federal Department of Health to make post-infection disease Australia’s 10th National Health Priority Area (NHPA). The number of Australians living with post-infection disease is rapidly increasing, predicted to be over half a million by the end of 2022, due to a new cohort of post-infection disease patients: those with Long COVID. Read more
ME/CFS is a permanent condition for most people. Less than 10% recover to pre-illness functioning and 20% of patients may worsen with time.[1] Despite this, many people with ME/CFS experience significant difficulties accessing the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Read more
A national, Optimal Care Referral Pathway (OCRP) will provide all people with ME/CFS consistent care across Australia, using an evidence-based, best practice pathway that empowers patients and clinicians to navigate support of complex, multi-system conditions such as ME/CFS, and other post infection diseases, such as Long COVID. Read more
The research literature about recovery from ME/CFS is inconsistent, making firm conclusions about recovery rates difficult. In particular, most studies of recovery don’t include a return to pre-illness function as part of their definition of “recovery” and would be more accurately considered studies on rates of improvement than recovery1. Read more
There are approximately 20 different sets of diagnostic criteria for ME/CFS which have been developed over the history of the disease. This has created inconsistency in research, as different diagnostic criteria result in participant samples which are not easily compared between studies. Read more
Emerge Australia recognises the close links between ME/CFS and Long COVID. Scientific studies indicate that the most frequent shared symptoms of people with Long COVID and people with ME/CFS are post-exertional malaise (PEM), cognitive difficulties and fatigue. Read more
It is a matter of urgency for Australia to update its clinical guidelines for ME/CFS, to ensure that Australian ME/CFS patients have access to the best possible care, based on current understanding of the condition and latest evidence. Read more
Emerge Australia welcomes the Federal Government’s announcement that Medicare rebates will be made permanent for online and over-the-phone telehealth services provided by GPs, specialists and allied health practitioners. Read more
Emerge Australia uses ME/CFS as an umbrella term. Research has not confirmed whether the illness is one condition, two conditions (ME and CFS), several different conditions or a condition with several subgroups. ME/CFS includes all diagnoses of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and ME/CFS. Read more