OACHC and ODH Support Hepatitis C Improvement Work
The Ohio Association of Community Health Centers (OACHC) is supporting work in three Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) to improve screening and referral to treatment for patients with Hepatitis C infection, with funding from the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). Hepatitis C is a liver infection caused by the hepatitis c virus (HCV). It the most common chronic bloodborne infection in the United States, and there is currently no vaccination available to prevent infection. Ohio is particularly burdened by the virus in Appalachian areas of the state, and reports of hepatitis C infections are on the rise, according to the ODH. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) tributes the increase in hepatitis C incidents to the growing opioid epidemic and intravenous drug use. The good news is that HCV treatments are more effective and more tolerable than in the past so if we can find and screen these individuals we can control the rise of the infection rate.
Each FQHC will adopt the following Clinical Protocol Recommend for Hepatitis C to improve their screening, detection, and management of patients with Hepatitis C:
https://www.ohiochc.org/resource/resmgr/behavioral_health/Hepatitis_C_Clinical_Protoco.pdf
The protocol follows the guidelines and recommendations of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the CDC. More information can be found at https://www.hcvguidelines.org.
The protocol defines patients who are at high risk for HCV to be the following:
• Baby boomer cohort (born between 1945-1965)
• People who inject drugs, including those who injected only once many years ago
• Recipients of clotting factor concentrates made before 1987 when more advanced methods for manufacturing those products were developed
• Recipients of blood transfusions or solid organ transplants before July 1992, when better testing of blood donors became available
• Chronic hemodialysis patients
• Persons with known exposures to HCV, such as − Health care worker after needle sticks involving HCV-positive blood − Recipients of blood or organs from a donor who tested HCV-positive
• Persons with HIV infection
• Children born to HCV-positive mothers
The three FQHCs and their locations and their sites supported by this grant work are shown below.
FQHC
|
COUNTY
|
CITY
|
TOTAL SITES
|
Hopewell Health Centers
|
Jackson
|
Jackson
|
2
|
Hopewell Health Centers
|
Gallia
|
Gallopolis
|
1
|
Hopewell Health Centers
|
Ross
|
Chillicothe
|
2
|
Compass Community Health Care Center
|
Scioto
|
Portsmouth
|
1
|
Valley View Health Centers
|
Pike
|
Waverly
|
1
|
As the FQHCs begin to adopt the new HCV protocol and train their staff, they have already begun to measure their data for marked improvements in the number of patients who are being screened, tested, and referred to care for HCV. The graph below shows an aggregate report of the first data report collected from 9/12/18 to 10/31/18. We expect each of these measures to increase throughout the duration of the grant.
OACHC will continue to update the membership on this important work. For more information, please contact Tiffany White, Behavioral Health Program Manager at twhite@ohiochc.org.
