Primary Care Treatment Intervention for Hepatitis C Proves Effective

An increase in the percentage of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection who initiated curative treatment was observed as a result of a primary care improvement intervention, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. Ann Stewart, MD, MSc, and colleagues conducted a population-based improvement intervention over 10 months in a primary care setting to support treatment of patients with HCV. The intervention included proactive patient outreach, education for clinicians, mentorship, a decision-support tool, and enhanced interprofessional team support. To understand the impact on the percentage of patients who initiated treatment and achieved sustained virologic response (SVR), researchers used process and outcome measures. Pharmacist interventions and physician focus groups were employed to understand the mechanisms and context influencing the intervention’s impact. The proportion of patients positive for HCV who started treatment grew from 66.0% to 75.5%, with 92.5% of those starting treatment reaching SVR.