By David Tuller, DrPH
Even though the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is the country’s leading public health agency, other government entities are not always up-to-speed on the latest recommendations. That could explain why the Department of Veterans Affairs appears to be using a variation of the 1988 Holmes definition for chronic fatigue syndrome in assessing current applications for disability benefits.
(A veteran who has had trouble accessing appropriate care contacted me about this issue and alerted me to the various links.)
The DVA’s “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) Disability Benefits Questionnaire,” which is supposed to be filled out by the veteran’s provider, is identified as having been updated in April, 2020, and “released” in January 2022. The form includes the following passage: