̽��ֱ��

A ‘chasm of misunderstanding and miscommunication’ is often experienced between clinicians and patients, leading to autoimmune diseases such as lupus and vasculitis being wrongly diagnosed as psychiatric or psychosomatic conditions, with a profound and lasting impact on patients, researchers have found.

An increase in nightmares and hallucinations – or ‘daymares’ – could herald the onset of autoimmune diseases such as lupus, say an international team led by researchers at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and King’s College London.

Experts today call for more value to be given to patients’ ‘lived experiences’ as a study of over 1,000 patients and clinicians found multiple examples of patient reports being under-valued.

More than half of patients with auto-immune conditions experience mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety, yet the majority are rarely or never asked in clinic about mental health symptoms, according to new research from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and King’s College London.

A study of rheumatology patients and clinicians has found that while the majority found phone or video consultations more convenient than face-to-face consultations, they viewed so-called telemedicine as less diagnostically accurate than in-person consultations and as having the potential to increase health inequalities and barriers to accessing appropriate care.