Only 8.3 percent of eligible patients seen at safety net community health centers receive appropriate screenings for the hepatitis C virus, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association (JAOA), with female patients significantly less likely to be screened than their male counterparts.
The study, conducted among more than 60,000 patients at fourteen community health centers, also highlights concerning disparities in preventative screenings between ethnic groups, as well as decreased screening rates among older patients.
Even though nearly three million people in the United States are living with a chronic HCV infection, the virus does not often receive recognition in population health management programs, largely due to its asymptomatic nature.
Read more...Labels: CDC, Community Health Centers, USPSTF