Forgotten Patients: Overlooked Diseases
Webinars
2025
Challenges in the medical consultation
Read more and watch on demand here ➜
June 26, 2025
Treatment and support exist for many common or rare diseases, but people with complex, medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) often remain without answers.
An estimated 50% of GP consultations do not result in a clear diagnosis, leaving patients feeling dismissed, stigmatised, and pushed from one specialist to another while enduring endless tests and ineffective treatments. Being labelled as having a functional or psychosomatic illness can add further distress and lead to long-term mental health difficulties.
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This webinar set out to highlight the plight of ‘Forgotten Patients’, explore real patient stories, consider the ethical and clinical challenges of diagnostic uncertainty, and examine how overlooked health initiatives and new technologies could provide better pathways of care.
2024
Medically Unexplained Symptoms: A Multidisciplinary Conference
Read more and watch on demand here ➜
May 01, 2024
Treatment and support are available for most common conditions, and for rare diseases there are usually specialist organisations or self-help groups to turn to. By contrast, people with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) often fall into a cycle of repeated tests, referrals, and unsuccessful treatments without finding answers.
This remains a poorly researched area despite the large number affected and the high costs to both patients and healthcare systems. Without a clear diagnosis, many feel frustrated, overlooked, and forgotten, while some also develop long-term mental health problems.
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Our hope during this conference was to bring together experts, patients, and advocates to better understand MUS, highlight why the patient journey can go wrong, and explore new and practical solutions — from ethics and genetics to AI and supportive therapies — that might improve outcomes for those living with these complex conditions.
2022
Forgotten Patients, Overlooked Diseases and Lost Health Solutions
Read more and watch on demand here ➜
December 14, 2022
Treatment and support are available for most common diseases. For those suffering from a rare condition, there will usually be a society or self-help organisation. Members of the research and medical communications community are generally familiar with helping these groups.
By comparison, there is a sizeable number of people who may have complex, medically unexplained symptoms but no clear diagnosis. It is estimated that up to 50% of GP consultations do not result in a clear diagnosis. Often, affected individuals feel overlooked as they get shunted from one specialty to another, endure countless tests and are tried on a range of unsuccessful treatments. People do not know where to turn while money and resources are wasted. Being labelled as having a functional or psychosomatic illness may compound their problems resulting in chronic mental health problems.
Our hope during this webinar is to highlight the ‘Forgotten Patients’ group, examine with examples why the patient journey can go wrong and explore whether some previously proposed health solutions might be of value.