Impact of electronic reminder systems on hepatitis C screening in primary care

Screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) was recommended in 2012 by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for the population born between 1946 and 1965. Reminder systems are effective at promoting HCV screening, but the yield of positive tests among various population subgroups and the linkage to specialty HCV treatment is not well understood. We sought to determine: (i) the effect of the CDC recommendation alone, and the effect of an electronic medical record (EMR) reminder on the proportion of the population screened; (ii) the yield of positive HCV tests as screening strategies have evolved, and according to a patient's history of serum aminotransferase testing; (iii) the proportion of positive cases followed up for HCV treatment. This retrospective cohort study included 60 000 primary care patients at a northeast US academic medical centre serving an urban and rural population in which an EMR reminder was instituted in 2014. Results demonstrated an increase in proportion tested for HCV from 12% prior to the CDC recommendation to 37% after the reminder system. The yield of positive HCV antibody (HCV Ab) tests decreased from 7% in the "case-finding" era to 1.6% after the EMR reminder prompted screening of a lower risk population (P < .001). Patients with a history of abnormal aminotransferase tests had a fivefold higher rate of positive HCV Ab testing (6.7% vs 1.5%, P < .001). Ninety per cent of patients with confirmed HCV infection were seen in specialty care.