Testing and Treating Hepatitis C in Community Pharmacies

The SuperDOT-C study will evaluate a new pathway of care for patients on OST who are already receiving OST therapy on a daily basis from a pharmacist. Newer therapies for HCV have recently become much simpler to initiate and supervise with much improved effectiveness and as described below it is now proposed to extend the role of community pharmacists into initiating HCV therapy alongside the existing OST The SuperDOT-C study will utilise this existing environment and relationship to smooth the pathway into HCV therapy with co-administration of OST alongside the anti-HCV therapy under the supervision of the pharmacist compared with the established pathway of referral to another site and treatment with a nurse led ant-HCV treatment program. This new pathway may have positive effects on the movement towards HCV cure at multiple levels. The planned pathway is different to current care at each point, from testing and diagnosis through adherence to cure. In the planned pathway, the patient interacts with the pharmacist on a daily basis, as compared to intermittent interaction with a secondary care team member. The result being that the patient has a shorter care pathway, with less travelling and better access to anti-HCV treatment. The daily interaction with the pharmacy provides opportunities to assess and support the patient, provide sound advice and care, with the added benefit of being able to directly observe treatment, (DOT), thus potentially improving adherence.

Inclusion criteria

• HCV PCR positive,
• Stable OST dose for greater than 12 weeks prior to study enrolment

Exclusion criteria

• Evidence of current or previous decompensated liver disease,
• Currently receiving HCV eradication treatment
• HIV infection,
• HBsAg positive with detectable HBV DNA,
• Pregnancy
• Cirrhosis or high fibrosis score
• Genotype deemed unsuitable for treatment with available study drugs
• Unable or unwilling to provide informed consent