The Role of Opioid Treatment Programs in Hepatitis C Care: A Path to Elimination

Between 2010 and 2022 (the latest year for which data are available), 194,375 New Yorkers were diagnosed with hepatitis C (HCV) and of those, 53% (103,213 individuals) are known to have cleared their infection either through treatment or spontaneously. This statistic is worth celebrating, but also highlights the ongoing need for action – the goal outlined in New York State’s Hepatitis C Elimination Plan is to reach 80% by 2030. Furthermore, people who inject drugs are disproportionally affected by HCV – in 2022, 48% of newly reported cases of acute HCV in New York indicated injection drug use as a risk factor. And, when analyzing cases with known risk factors, that figure rose to 81% of newly reported acute cases indicating injection drug use. Providing HCV treatment in opioid treatment program (OTP)s is an innovative and necessary strategy to curb the ongoing epidemic and achieve statewide goals for elimination.

This episode features Abigail Hunter, MPH, MSN, FNP-BC, sharing her experience providing HCV treatment at an OTP and recommendations for listeners interested in integrating treatment into clinical services. Related Content:

• CEI Training “Hepatitis C and Injection Drug Use” - https://ceitraining.org/courses/1148
• VOCAL-NY: https://www.vocal-ny.org/
• Respectful, Equitable Access to Comprehensive Healthcare (REACH) Program at Mount Sinai: https://www.mountsinai.org/care/primary-care/upper-east-side/ima/reach
• New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute guideline for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection in Adults: https://www.hivguidelines.org/hepatitis-care/hcv-treatment/
• Taylor, LE. (2020), Colocalization in Hepatitis C Virus Infection Care: The Role of Opioid Agonist Therapy Clinics. Clinical Liver Disease, 16:12-15. https://doi.org/10.1002/cld.921
• Addiction Technology Transfer Center Guide to Integrating HCV Services into Opioid Treatment Programs: https://attcnetwork.org/sites/default/files/2020-07/Guide%20to%20Integrating%20HCV%20Services%20into%20Opioid%20Treatment%20-%20July%2024-1.pdf
• New York State Hepatitis C Elimination Plan: https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/hepatitis/hepatitis_c/docs/hepatitis_c_elimination_plan.pdf
• New York State Hepatitis C Dashboard: https://hcvdashboardny.org/

• CEI toll free line for NYS providers: 866-637-2342

• https://ceitraining.org/