Facilitated Telemedicine in the Catholic Health System

University at Buffalo (UB)

Status

Begins enrollment in 4 months

Conditions

HCV

Study type

Observational

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT06483451

STUDY00008372

Details and patient eligibility

About

Hepatitis C virus is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally with the highest prevalence and incidence among people with opioid use disorder. We aim to establish facilitated telemedicine as a standard of care treatment approach at 3 opioid treatment programs operated by the Catholic Health System. This study is a chart review data analysis to evaluate outcomes of facilitated telemedicine integrated into opioid treatment programs and to evaluate the number of individuals who initiate and complete treatment for hepatitis C virus infection.

Full description

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally with the highest prevalence and incidence among people with opioid use disorder. In 2013, direct-acting antivirals were introduced for HCV treatment: all oral medications with minimal side effects and excellent efficacy when taken for 2-3 months. However, only 34% of eligible individuals received direct-acting antivirals between 2013 and 2022. Moreover, HCV treatment with direct-acting antivirals was substantially lower among people with opioid use disorder. Access to highly effective HCV treatment by the populations with the greatest need remains inadequate.

To address this issue, we propose that facilitated telemedicine could be a bridge to integrate HCV treatment into opioid treatment programs. In our model, telemedicine encounters are facilitated by a case manager who is also a patient advocate and an educator. We recently completed a randomized clinical trial that compared facilitated telemedicine integrated into opioid treatment programs for HCV treatment compared to offsite referral. The HCV cure rate was 90.3% in facilitated telemedicine compared to 39.4% in offsite referral.

In the proposed project, we seek to establish facilitated telemedicine as a standard of care treatment approach at 3 opioid treatment programs operated by the Catholic Health System.

Enrollment

200 estimated patients

Sex

All

Ages

18+ years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria