The panelists continue to debate whether hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment should be administered by primary care physicians (PCPs) or hepatologists.
The panelists continue to debate whether hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment should be administered by primary care physicians (PCPs) or hepatologists.
Dr Miller addresses the PCP approach to management: “I think that the truth is probably somewhere in between. I actually think for a hepatologist to do the staging and decide who’s appropriate for therapy is still going to be crucial,” he says. “I think as the newer products come on the marketplace and if they continue to show the relatively few side effect as they are, then you will be able to send [patients] back to the PCP to monitor their course of therapy.”
Dr Miller adds that currently, a plan sponsor spends about $10 per patient per year on the treatment of HCV. So if the average person spends about $1000 per year on drugs, $10 is devoted to HCV. By 2015, that cost will grow to $45 per patient per year for HCV—quite a dramatic increase.
He adds that for healthcare systems or big employers, their ability to cover that increase is “really going to challenge them.” Providers and payers can ensure money is not wasted by treating patients appropriately. The PCP, however, may face challenges with the complexity of regimens, so a hepatologist will be crucial early on.
The panelists go on to discuss the economic implications of cost sharing, side effect profiles of treatments, and efficacy of different therapies. The discussion concludes that patients should not be put on higher-risk, less-efficacious drugs like interferon simply for reasons associated with cost.
HIV, Hepatitis C Testing Rates Remain Dismal Among Injection Drug Users
April 17th 2020Despite being at an increased risk for HIV and hepatitis C, persons who inject drugs (PWID) are tested at dismal rates for both: just 8.6% and 7.7%, respectively, according to data from 2010 to 2017. PWID who live in rural communities are more likely to face barriers to adequate testing and care for both diseases.
Read More
Dr Rebekah Gee Offers an Inside Look at Louisiana's Subscription Payment Model for HCV Drugs
May 7th 2019We speak with Dr Rebekah Gee, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health about the subscription payment model for hepatitis C virus drugs that the state has entered into with Asegua Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Gilead Sciences.
Listen