Use of telehealth to increase treatment access for prisoners with chronic hepatitis C

Abir Halder; Vicky Guizhi Li; Marilyn Sebastian; Saroja Nazareth; Rhoda Tuma; Wendy Cheng; Adam Doyle

doi:10.1111/imj.15451

Use of telehealth to increase treatment access for prisoners with chronic hepatitis C

Intern Med J. 2021 Aug;51(8):1344-1347. doi: 10.1111/imj.15451.

Authors

Abir Halder¹, Vicky Guizhi Li¹, Marilyn Sebastian¹, Saroja Nazareth¹, Rhoda Tuma¹, Wendy Cheng¹, Adam Doyle¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Royal Perth Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.

PMID: 34423535
DOI: 10.1111/imj.15451

Abstract

Prisons remain a priority population in the treatment of hepatitis C (HCV) in Australia. To improve treatment uptake, we created a novel telehealth-based model of care for prisoners with HCV that is both cost-effective and requires minimal infrastructure. Over a period of 30 months, a total of 332 patients was initiated on treatment, achieving a per protocol sustained virological response (SVR12) rate of 91%. A large number (29%) of patients was lost to follow up after release from prison - highlighting the vital opportunity for HCV treatment during incarceration. We propose that similar models of care can be used to improve HCV treatment access for other priority populations in Australia.

Keywords: direct-acting antiviral; hepatitis C; prison; prisoner; telehealth.

MeSH terms

Antiviral Agents / therapeutic use
Hepatitis C* / diagnosis
Hepatitis C* / drug therapy
Hepatitis C* / epidemiology
Hepatitis C, Chronic* / diagnosis
Hepatitis C, Chronic* / drug therapy
Hepatitis C, Chronic* / epidemiology
Humans
Prisoners*
Prisons
Telemedicine*

Substances

Antiviral Agents