Hepatitis C screening in a community pharmacy setting: Patient perspective

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Infectious Diseases
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection causes over 15,000 deaths annually in the US.
• HCV is curable in over 90% of cases with treatment.
• HCV testing rates remain low despite treatment efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• Assess patient awareness, willingness to be screened, barriers, and willingness to pay for HCV screenings.
• Evaluate patient perspectives on community pharmacy-based HCV screening.
• Identify factors influencing uptake of HCV testing in a community pharmacy setting.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional survey design.
• Surveys administered at an independent community pharmacy.
• Data collected from eligible patients born between 1945-1965.
• Descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis of open-ended responses.

Main Results:

• Low awareness (7%) of available finger-stick point-of-care HCV tests.
• High unawareness (67%) of CDC HCV testing recommendations.
• Primary barriers: perceived low risk (29%) and cost uncertainty (14%).
• High interest (63%) in pharmacy screening, but low willingness to pay >$20 (71%).

Conclusions:

• Community pharmacy patients lack awareness of HCV screening availability and recommendations.
• Low cost is a significant factor for willingness to undergo HCV screening.
• Patient education on HCV importance and CDC guidelines may increase screening interest.