Category: Federal Forum Posters
Purpose: According to the CDC, Native Americans and Alaskan Natives have the highest incidence of acute hepatitis C and highest rate of hepatitis C related deaths of all races and ethnic groups in the United States. With the newer development of direct antiviral therapies, more ambitious measures can be taken to eliminate hepatitis C as a public health threat. The goal of this project is to implement a multidisciplinary and community collaboration to prevent and treat hepatitis C within a rural American Indian Community.
Methods: A multidisciplinary team consisting of pharmacists, nurses, providers, and other health care professionals will collaborate to identify and apply strategies to prevent new viral hepatitis infections, reduce health disparities, reduce deaths, and improve the health of people living with hepatitis C. An initial gap analysis will be performed to identify and address areas of improvement for the hepatitis C clinic. Inter-collaborative efforts, including the establishment of a pharmacist managed collaborative practice agreement, will be made to improve access and services. Additionally, implementation of a safe syringe exchange program will provide injection drug users access to hepatitis C prevention and treatment services. These strategies will include collaboration with tribal programs including the local health programs and the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) program, to increase access to prevention and treatment in at risk populations. Finally, a community outreach plan will be aimed at increasing community awareness and decreasing stigma to screenings and seeking treatment. Outcomes to assess community perception, screening services, and treatment results will be analyzed to determine the impact of this project.
Results: not applicable
Conclusion: not applicable
Peter Jaeger
– Pharmacist, Red Lake Hospital Indian Health Service, Bemidji, MN117 Views