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Abstract Details
Integrating Management of Hepatitis C Infection into Primary Care: the Key to Hepatitis C Elimination Efforts
J Gen Intern Med. 2022 Apr 28. doi: 10.1007/s11606-022-07628-9.Online ahead of print.
1Department of Internal Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
2Department of Internal Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. terrault@usc.edu.
3Division of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. terrault@usc.edu.
Abstract
Elimination of hepatitis C virus (HCV), a leading cause of liver disease in the USA and globally, has been made possible with the advent of highly efficacious direct acting antivirals (DAAs). DAA regimens offer cure of HCV with 8-12 weeks of a well-tolerated once daily therapy. With increasingly straightforward diagnostic and treatment algorithms, HCV infection can be managed not only by specialists, but also by primary care providers. Engaging primary care providers greatly increases capacity to diagnose and treat chronic HCV and ultimately make HCV elimination a reality. However, barriers remain at each step in the HCV cascade of care from screening to evaluation and treatment. Since primary care is at the forefront of patient contact, it represents the ideal place to concentrate efforts to identify barriers and implement solutions to achieve universal HCV screening and increase curative treatment.