The impact of electronic medical record system implementation on HCV screening and continuum of care: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Hepatitis C (HCV) screening is imperative to meet WHO elimination targets including increased detection and reduced mortality. An electronic medical record (EMR) system can be utilized in health care centers to indicate if a patient should be targeted for HCV screening, thus increasing the number of those offered testing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined English language publications reporting on the impact of EMR system utilization on HCV screening and the HCV continuum of care. Relevant papers were identified using multiple search engines to search key terms. Clinical outcomes considered included any or no change in HCV screening rates following EMR system introduction, as well as any or no change in rates of patients progressing along the HCV cascade of care after diagnosis once an EMR system was implemented. RESULTS: From a search pool of 18 studies, 11 meet inclusion criteria and reported on the selected clinical outcomes. Each outcome assessed indicated that use of an EMR system increased the proportion of patients offered and/or receiving HCV testing. We were unable to conclude if an EMR system had an impact on the number of patients progressing along the HCV cascade of care following a positive test result. Overall, all methods of implementation of an EMR system had the same outcome of increasing screening rates. CONCLUSIONS: EMR system utilization had a positive impact on increasing HCV screening. However, the clinical effectiveness of utilizing an EMR system to help eliminate transmission and increase HCV treatment cure rates requires further study.

Direct-Acting Antiviral Therapy Outcomes in Canadian Chronic Hepatitis C Telemedicine Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Many of the 300,000 HCV-infected Canadians live in under-served and remote areas without access to HCV healthcare specialists. Telemedicine (TM) and advances in HCV management can facilitate linkage of these marginalized patients to healthcare. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cohort database analysis was performed on patients followed at The Ottawa Hospital and Regional Viral Hepatitis Program between January 2012 and August 2016. We compared patient characteristics, fibrosis work-up and antiviral treatment outcomes in TM (n = 157) and non-TM (n = 1,130) patients (The Ottawa Hospital Viral Hepatitis Outpatient Clinic) residing in Eastern Ontario. RESULTS: TM patients were more often infected with genotype 3 (25.9% vs. 16.4%), were more commonly Indigenous (7.0% vs. 2.2%) had a history of injection drug use (70.1% vs. 54.9%) and incarceration (46.5% vs 35.5%). Groups were comparable in age (48.9 years), gender (63.7% male) and cirrhotic stage (24.0%). 59.2% of TM patients underwent transient elastography during regional outreach blitzes compared to 61.8% of non-TM patients (p = 0.54). Overall, half as many TM patients initiated antiviral therapy as non-TM patients (27.4% vs. 53.8%, p < 0.001). The introduction of DAA regimens is bridging this gap (22.2% of TM patients vs. 34.3% of non-TM patients). SVR rates with interferon-free, DAA regimens were 94.7% and 94.8% in TM and non-TM groups (p = 0.99). CONCLUSION: Our TM program engages and retains a population that faces many barriers to effective HCV treatment. TM patients initiated HCV therapy and achieved High SVR rates comparable to those obtained using traditional models of care.

Hepatitis C Virus Infection Outcomes Among Immigrants to Canada: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: HCV-infected immigrants contribute to the total prevalence in Canada and other developed nations. Little is known about engagement in care, access to service, and treatment outcomes in recipients of Direct Acting Antiviral (DAA) HCV therapies among immigrants living with HCV. MATERIAL AND METHODS: HCV patients assessed at The Ottawa Hospital Viral Hepatitis Clinic between 2000-2016 were identified. Immigration history, race, socioeconomic status, HCV work-up, treatment and outcome data were evaluated. HCV fibrosis assessment, treatment and sustained virologic response (SVR) were compared using logistic regression. RESULTS: 2,335 HCV-infected patients were analyzed with 91% (2114) having data on immigration (23% immigrants). A median 16 years (Quartiles: 5, 29) passed from immigration to referral. Access to diagnostic procedures (Fibroscan/liver biopsy) was greater among immigrants compared to Canadian-born (78% vs. 68%, p = 0.001) and immigrants had an odds ratio of 1.72 (95% CI: 1.18-2.51) of receiving a FibroScan compared to Canadians after adjustment for demographic characteristics, HCV risk factors, and socioeconomic status. No differences in SVR were found between immigrants for IFN recipients. Among DAA recipients, rates of SVR were > 94% among all patients, 93% in Canadian-born and 98% among immigrants (p = 0.14). CONCLUSION: Nearly 80% of immigrants in this setting had access to fibrosis assessment which was higher than Canadian-born patients. Under half of both groups had initiated HCV therapy. Delays in accessing HCV care represent a missed opportunity to engage, treat and cure HCV patients. HCV screening and health care engagement at the time of immigration would optimize HCV care and therapeutic outcomes.

Is pre-treatment liver biopsy necessary for all hepatitis C genotypes?

BACKGROUND: Current practice guidelines recommend liver biopsy prior to treatment of hepatitis C genotype-1 but not for genotype-2/3; this is based on expert opinion, not on published evidence. METHODS: In retrospective analysis of a large trial database prior to the publication of recent guidelines, we compared outcomes in 985 treatment-naïve patients with hepatitis C who did or did not undergo liver biopsy before starting peginterferon alfa-2a plus ribavirin. RESULTS: Physicians elected to treat 141/654 (21.6%) genotype-1 patients and 126/331 (38.1%) genotype-2/3 patients without liver biopsy. There were no differences in baseline characteristics among those with or without pre-treatment liver biopsy, except for female preponderance in genotype-1 patients with liver biopsy. The sustained viral response (SVR) rate was no different amongst genotype-2/3 patients who had a biopsy before treatment with 66.3% SVR vs. 69.8% of those treated without biopsy (p = 0.546), but significantly higher among genotype-1 patients with pre-treatment liver biopsy at 54.6 vs. 44.0% for those treated without a liver biopsy (p = 0.029). In genotype-1 patients with liver biopsy, more patients with cirrhosis had dose adjustments (p = 0.0057) rather than drug discontinuation. There was tendency for earlier discontinuation among patients without pre-treatment liver biopsy. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-treatment liver biopsy was associated with better SVR amongst genotype-1 patients. This improvement may reflect ongoing commitment to completing the treatment course by both patient and physician. In genotype-2/3 patients, pre-treatment liver biopsy may not be essential to maximize SVR rates. This study validates the recommendations of the most recent treatment guidelines for hepatitis C.