Screening at a Federally Qualified Health Center in the Midwest for Hepatitis C Among People Who Inject Drugs, 2019–2020
ORIGINAL RESEARCH — Volume 18 — July 15, 2021
PEER REVIEWED
Figure 1.
Estimated percentage of people with hepatitis C virus (HCV) at each step of the care cascade, US, 2014. Approximately 3.5 million people in the US have chronic HCV infection. Figure adapted with permission from Yehia et al (7).
| Step in care cascade | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Chronic infection | 100 |
| Diagnosis and awareness | 50 |
| Prescribed treatment | 16 |
| Sustained virologic response | 9 |
During preintervention data collection, 871 electronic health records of people who inject drugs were evaluated and met inclusion criteria: ICD-10 code relating to illicit drug use OR nursing form confirmed drug use; patient had an office visit between April 2019 and October 2019; patient was aged 18 or older. Of the 871 patients, 562 were confirmed PWID. Of 562 patients identified as PWID, 329 (59.6%) were screened for HCV. During postintervention data collection, 1,326 electronic health records of people were evaluated and met inclusion criteria. Of 435 patients identified as PWID, 283 (65%) were screened for HCV.
Figure 2.
Identification of people who inject drugs and receipt of screening for hepatitis C virus at a primary care clinic in a federally qualified health center in the US Midwest. Preintervention data collection took place from April 16, 2019, through October 29, 2019; postintervention data collection took place October 30, 2019, through February 28, 2020. Abbreviations: EHR, electronic health record; HCV, hepatitis C virus; ICD-10-CM, International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification.
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