ACCESS Project - Outreach care for ME/ CFS

Our project is aimed at patients who are so severely affected by ME/CFS in the context of post-COVID or other causes that they cannot leave the house and are therefore hardly able to seek medical help.

We have therefore launched a project that focuses on surveying the frequency and special needs of this patient group and also examines the effect of intensive telemedical support for patients in their own homes on the well-being of patients and caregivers. If the care model proves to have a positive effect, this could be incorporated into routine medical care.

♦♦♦♦ Prerequisite for participation in the study is the willingness of the patient, the caregiver and the family physician to participate in the study! ♦♦♦

The most important inclusion criteria are:

You are between 18 and 70 years old
You live in Germany
You have ME/CFS according to the Canadian Consensus criteria
Your Bell Score is ≤ 30, i.e. you are so ill that no outpatient presentation in a specialized outpatient clinic is possible.
The duration of post-exertional malaise (PEM) is more than 14 hours
Your general practitioner and your main caregiver are willing to participate in the study by implementing/supporting the treatment recommendations

The most important exclusion criteria are

Pre-existing conditions and concomitant illnesses that (could) have led to a restriction of mobility or mental capacity per se, such as various diseases of the central nervous system, cancer

Study procedure - This is how your participation works

All steps at a glance

We want to visit those affected at home with a team of physicians consisting of specialists in neurology, internal medicine and psychosomatics from Hannover Medical School. Those affected are thoroughly examined, questioned and a blood sample is taken. The caregiver is also questioned about the current stress situation. Following the home visits, the results of the examination are discussed between the team of experts and the responsible GP and an individual care plan is drawn up.
Patients are then randomly assigned to one of 2 treatment groups.
In the first group, we keep in touch with your GP at 3-month intervals to discuss any questions and problems.
In the second group, we also give you and your caregiver the opportunity to contact us once a month to discuss care issues or medical problems directly.
All patients participating in the study will be visited at home a second time after 12 months to repeat the initial examinations and to see if their state of health has changed.

Contact

Are you interested in the study and do you meet the above inclusion and exclusion criteria?

►Then send us an e-mail to: access-patienten@mh-hannover.de

Important notes

Please note:

We ask for your understanding that we cannot process all inquiries. Nor can we answer all messages individually. This is also not a contact point for medical advice.

If you are eligible for our home visits, we will contact you by email and send you a medical report form.

►Further information on the project funded by the Federal Ministry of Health can be found here:

OutreAch MediCal Care for HousEbound Patients with Post-COVID Syndrome or ME/CFS of any cause (ACCESS) | BMG