Streamlining Hepatitis C Treatment Access in Primary Care

The Challenge

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment is increasingly being managed in primary care settings, largely due to advancements in medications that require less frequent monitoring and have fewer adverse effects. However, primary care clinicians frequently refer patients to specialists. This often stems from the burden of administrative tasks such as arranging necessary laboratory workup, navigating insurance prior authorizations, and coordinating with pharmacies, all of which can lead to significant treatment delays.

A New Approach: Interdisciplinary Team

At an urban family medicine residency clinic located in Columbus, Ohio, a notable number of eligible patients were not successfully receiving and completing their HCV treatment. In response to this challenge, the clinic established an interdisciplinary team in July 2022.

This team comprised a physician, a pharmacist, and an office staff member. Their primary objective was to streamline medication access, a process that included providing crucial support for prior authorizations. Within this team structure, physicians maintained responsibility for prescribing treatment. The pharmacist, meanwhile, took charge of managing medication access and conducting routine follow-up appointments to bolster patient adherence to the treatment regimen.

The average time to initiate treatment was significantly reduced from over six months to under two months.

Outcomes and Implications

To assess the effectiveness of this intervention, the clinic conducted a retrospective quality improvement analysis. Outcomes from the period of July 2022 to June 2024 (during which the team was active) were compared with those from July 2020 to June 2022 (prior to the team's implementation).

The results indicated that the implementation of the interdisciplinary team led to a notable increase in the number of patients receiving HCV treatment. Furthermore, the average time required to initiate treatment saw a dramatic reduction: it was significantly decreased from over six months to under two months. This demonstrates a clear association between sharing administrative and follow-up responsibilities across an interdisciplinary team and improved access to HCV treatment.