§ 117. Chronic fatigue syndrome

(a) The Commissioner of Health shall establish a statewide network of resources to provide education through the distribution of information regarding persons with chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS), to persons with chronic fatigue syndrome, health care providers, and the public.

(b) The Department shall work in collaboration with the Vermont CFIDS Association, Inc. and health care providers with expertise in chronic fatigue syndrome to prepare an informational packet about the clinical significance, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome. The informational packet shall be based upon the publication “A Consensus Manual for the Primary Care and Management of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome” published by the Academy of Medicine of New Jersey and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, to the extent allowable under federal copyright protections. The Department shall distribute the informational packet to all primary care physicians in the State, and it shall be available on the Department of Health’s website. The informational packet may contain any other information that the Commissioner of Health deems necessary and shall be revised by the Department when new information about chronic fatigue syndrome becomes available. The Department shall publicize the informational packet and make it widely available to the public. (Added 2005, No. 215 (Adj. Sess.), § 116.)