1. Hepatitis C Virus Screening and Care: Complexity of Implementation in Primary Care Practices Serving Disadvantaged Populations.
- Author
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Turner BJ, Rochat A, Lill S, Bobadilla R, Hernandez L, Choi A, and Guerrero JA
- Subjects
- Aged, Antiviral Agents therapeutic use, Female, Hepatitis C Antibodies blood, Hepatitis C, Chronic drug therapy, Hepatitis C, Chronic ethnology, Hepatitis C, Chronic prevention & control, Hispanic or Latino, Humans, Male, Medically Uninsured, Middle Aged, RNA, Viral blood, Retrospective Studies, Texas epidemiology, Vulnerable Populations, Hepacivirus immunology, Hepacivirus isolation & purification, Hepatitis C, Chronic diagnosis, Mass Screening, Primary Health Care
- Abstract
Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) disproportionately affects disadvantaged communities., Objective: To examine processes and outcomes of Screen, Treat, Or Prevent Hepatocellular Carcinoma (STOP HCC), a multicomponent intervention for HCV screening and care in safety-net primary care practices., Design: Mixed-methods retrospective analysis., Setting: 5 federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and 1 family medicine residency program serving low-income communities in diverse locations with largely Hispanic populations., Patients: Persons born in 1945 through 1965 (baby boomers) who had never been tested for HCV and were followed through May 2018., Intervention: The Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) model guided implementation and evaluation. Test costs were covered for uninsured patients., Measurements: All practices tested patients for anti-HCV antibody (anti-HCV) and HCV RNA. For uninsured patients with chronic HCV in 4 practices, quantitative data also enabled assessment of HCV staging, specialist teleconsultation, direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment, and sustained virologic response (SVR). Implementation fidelity and adaptation were assessed qualitatively., Results: Anti-HCV screening was done in 13 334 of 27 700 baby boomers (48.1%, varying by practice from 19.8% to 71.3%). Of 695 anti-HCV-positive patients, HCV RNA was tested in 520 (74.8%; 48.9% to 92.9% by practice), and 349 persons (2.6% of those screened) were diagnosed with chronic HCV. In 4 FQHCs, 174 (84.9%) of 205 uninsured patients with chronic HCV had disease staging, 145 (70.7%) had teleconsultation review, 119 (58.0%) were recommended to start DAA therapy, 82 (40.0%) initiated free DAA therapy, 74 (36.1%) completed therapy (27.8% to 60.0% by practice), and 70 (94.6% of DAA completers) achieved SVR. Implementation was promoted by multilevel practice engagement, patient navigation, and anti-HCV screening with reflex HCV RNA testing., Limitation: No control practices were included, and data were missing for some variables., Conclusion: Despite a similar framework for STOP HCC implementation, performance varied widely across safety-net practices, which may reflect practice engagement as well as infrastructure or cost challenges beyond practice control., Primary Funding Source: Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
- Published
- 2019
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