Habermann-Horstmeier, Lotte, Horstmeier, Lukas M · MMW Fortschritte der Medizin · 2023 · DOI
This study surveyed 544 ME/CFS patients about their experiences with doctors. Most patients reported feeling unsupported, misunderstood, and dismissed—with doctors not recognizing ME/CFS as a real biological disease. These poor relationships with healthcare providers led to serious consequences: patients avoided doctors, lost trust in medicine, and some even experienced thoughts of suicide. The researchers conclude that doctors need to treat ME/CFS patients as experts in their own illness and develop better, patient-centered care approaches.
This research highlights a critical gap in ME/CFS care: the profound harm caused by physician skepticism and poor doctor-patient relationships. Understanding these barriers is essential for improving clinical outcomes and preventing the serious psychological consequences—including suicide risk—that stem from feeling dismissed by healthcare providers. The findings underscore the urgency of medical education reform and patient-centered care models for ME/CFS.
This study documents patient experiences and perceptions but does not establish causation or objectively measure health outcomes. It does not compare ME/CFS patients' doctor-patient experiences to those with other chronic diseases, nor does it measure whether specific interventions improve the relationship or health. The findings represent self-reported subjective experience rather than independently verified clinical data.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Habermann-Horstmeier, Lotte & Horstmeier, Lukas M (2023). [Implications of the quality of the doctor-patient relationship on health in adult ME/CFS patients. A qualitative public health study from a patien perspective].. MMW Fortschritte der Medizin. https://doi.org/10.1007/s15006-023-2894-z
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-habermann-horstmeier-2023-implications-quality,
author = {Habermann-Horstmeier, Lotte and Horstmeier, Lukas M},
title = {[Implications of the quality of the doctor-patient relationship on health in adult ME/CFS patients. A qualitative public health study from a patien perspective].},
journal = {MMW Fortschritte der Medizin},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1007/s15006-023-2894-z},
note = {PubMed: 38062324},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/habermann-horstmeier-2023-implications-quality},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/habermann-horstmeier-2023-implications-quality
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