The new web page, Hepatitis: Action Steps and Guidelines for Health Centers, supports viral hepatitis clinical quality improvement among the nation’s nearly 1,300 health centers, which operate more than 9,200 service delivery sites that annually provide healthcare services to nearly 22 million patients. These health centers, which provide high quality preventive and primary health care to patients, regardless of their ability to pay, are vital partners in our national response to viral hepatitis. The hepatitis resource page includes links to materials that can be used by healthcare providers, administrators and program staff, as well as patients. It features guidelines and recommendations on screening, vaccination, and treating patients with hepatitis B and hepatitis C, patient education materials, as well as training resources for clinicians.HRSA collects health center data on hepatitis B and C screening (i.e., number of tests performed) and diagnosis (i.e. number of patient visits with viral hepatitis listed as a diagnosis) through the Uniform Data System. In 2013, HRSA-supported health centers reported that they’d screened 317,647 patients for hepatitis B and provided services to 23,759 patients diagnosed with hepatitis B. That same year, 296,349 patients were screened for hepatitis C and 145,309 patients were diagnosed with hepatitis C.
By making these key resources available on one webpage, HRSA can help improve access to viral hepatitis prevention resources, diagnosis, and treatment for millions of patients.
