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Event Series: Hepatitis C Track

Expanding Treatment Access: Implementing a Pharmacist Led Hepatitis C Treatment Program through Collaborative Drug Therapy Management

March 19 @ 4:00 pm5:30 pm

The Department of Health and Human Services developed a National Strategic Plan to eliminate hepatitis C (HCV) as a public health threat by 2030. However, many barriers to accessing care remain. Pharmacists have increasingly played a role in the treatment of HCV and can support patients and care teams with navigating barriers at multiple steps along the care cascade. The Collaborative Drug Therapy Management (CDTM) model offers a strategy to leverage expertise of embedded pharmacists to improve HCV treatment access and outcomes. Leveraging the CDTM framework, we launched a pharmacist-led HCV workflow in October 2024 with follow-up evaluation through November 2025. Patients were seen by the pharmacist and infectious diseases physician at the initial visit. Pharmacists evaluated medication adherence, tolerability and access every four weeks following treatment initiation through end of treatment via phone or in-person visits. Approximately twelve weeks following completion of therapy patients met with the pharmacist to assess sustained virologic response and confirm HCV cure. 25 patients were treated via the HCV CDTM. To date 16 patients have confirmed completion of DAA course and were eligible for SVR12, of which six (37.5%) have confirmed SVR12 and 10 (62.5%) have not yet returned to care. No patients have had documented treatment failure. This program demonstrates that pharmacists are essential members of the HCV treatment team as they optimize medication selection, identify and manage drug-drug interactions, ensure medication access, facilitate rapid treatment initiation, and support adherence and follow-up.

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