Testing and Treating Hepatitis C in Community Pharmacies

Overview

Hepatitis C Virus, (HCV), infection is a major health concern in the UK with up to 0.7% of the population infected. At best, 25% of those infected will clear the infection spontaneously, though for those who develop a chronic infection, they may go onto to develop liver cirrhosis or liver cancers. The standard of care within the NHS is that patients with a history of intravenous drug use or those currently on methadone are at high risk of having HCV infection and should be offered HCV testing. Once diagnosed they can be referred to nurse led treatment pathways. Less than 10% of the methadone users are even tested for HCV and of them fewer than 20% go onto treatment regimens that successfully clear the infection despite regular interactions with heath care staff. Pharmacists who have daily interactions with patients receiving methadone are ideally placed to deliver anti HCV therapy as they have daily contact with this client group and are well placed to advise on the drug therapy. The SuperDOT C study will examine the impact of pharmacy led Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) for HCV treatment in patients attending Community Pharmacies in participating Health Boards within NHS Scotland. The impact of this approach will be compared with those referred to standard care pathways on how well participants clear their HCV infection.

The SuperDOT-C study will evaluate a new pathway of care for patients on OST who are already receiving OST therapy on a daily basis from a pharmacist. Newer therapies for HCV have recently become much simpler to initiate and supervise with much improved effectiveness and as described below it is now proposed to extend the role of community pharmacists into initiating HCV therapy alongside the existing OST The SuperDOT-C study will utilise this existing environment and relationship to smooth the pathway into HCV therapy with co-administration of OST alongside the anti-HCV therapy under the supervision of the pharmacist compared with the established pathway of referral to another site and treatment with a nurse led ant-HCV treatment program. This new pathway may have positive effects on the movement towards HCV cure at multiple levels. The planned pathway is different to current care at each point, from testing and diagnosis through adherence to cure. In the planned pathway, the patient interacts with the pharmacist on a daily basis, as compared to intermittent interaction with a secondary care team member. The result being that the patient has a shorter care pathway, with less travelling and better access to anti-HCV treatment. The daily interaction with the pharmacy provides opportunities to assess and support the patient, provide sound advice and care, with the added benefit of being able to directly observe treatment, (DOT), thus potentially improving adherence.