The impact of electronic medical record system implementation on HCV screening and continuum of care: a systematic review

The diagnostic cascade for patients with hepatitis delta infection in France, 2018-2022: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Chronic hepatitis D infection is the most severe form of viral hepatitis and can rapidly progress to cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. Despite recommendations for systematic screening of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive individuals, data from real-world studies have reported a low frequency of hepatitis D (or delta) virus (HDV) screening. Our cross-sectional analysis evaluated the diagnostic cascade for hepatitis D infection in tertiary centres and described the characteristics of HDV-positive patients.

METHODS

A total of 6772 individuals who tested HBsAg positive for the first time between 2018 and 2022 were retrospectively included. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were analysed.

RESULTS

A total of 5748 HBsAg-positive individuals (84.9%) were screened for HDV infection. The screening rate varied from 63% to 97% according to the screening strategy used in the centres including or not HDV reflex testing. The prevalence of HDV infection was 6.3%. HDV RNA levels were determined in 285 of the 364 (78.3%) HDV antibody screening-positive patients, and 167 (58.6%) had active HDV infection. 66.8% were males, with a mean age of 44.9 years. A total of 97.5% were born abroad, and 92.9% were HBeAg negative. At the time of diagnosis, HDV RNA levels were 6.0 Log UI/mL; 60.1% had alanine aminotransferase >40 U/L, and 56.3% had significant fibrosis (≥F2), including 41.6% with cirrhosis. The most common genotype was HDV-1 (75.4%). Coinfections were not uncommon: 7.4% were HIV positive, and 15.0% were HCV antibody positive.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study highlights the need for increased screening and monitoring of HDV infection. Reflex testing helps to identify HDV-infected individuals.

Successes and challenges of best practice alerts to identify and engage individuals living with hepatitis C virus

Introduction

Many individuals living with hepatitis C virus (HCV) are unaware of their diagnosis and/or have not been linked to programs providing HCV care. The use of electronic medical record (EMR) systems may assist with HCV infection identification and linkage to care.

Methods

In October 2021, we implemented HCV serology-focused best practice alerts (BPAs) at The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) via our EMR (EPIC). Our BPAs were programmed to identify previously tested HCV seropositive individuals. Physicians were prompted to conduct HCV RNA testing and submit consultation requests to the TOH Viral Hepatitis Program. We evaluated data post-BPA implementation to assess the design and related outcomes.

Results

From 1 September 2022 to 15 December 2022, a total of 2,029 BPAs were triggered for 139 individuals. As a consequence of the BPA prompts, nine HCV seropositive and nine HCV RNA-positive individuals were linked to care. The proportion of total consultations coming from TOH physicians increased post-BPA implementation. The BPA alerts were frequently declined, and physician engagement with our BPAs varied across specialty groups. Programming issues led to unnecessary BPA prompts (e.g., no hard stop to the prompts even though the individual was treated and cured and individuals linked to care without first undergoing HCV RNA testing). A fixed 6-month lookback period for test results limited our ability to identify many individuals.

Conclusion

An EMR-based BPA can assist with the identification and engagement of HCV-infected individuals in care. However, challenges including issues with programming, time commitment toward BPA configuration, productive communication between healthcare providers and the programming team, and physician responsiveness to the BPAs require attention to optimize the impact of BPAs.

A cross-sectional survey of hepatitis B virus screening in patients who received immunosuppressive therapy for rheumatoid arthritis in Japan

BACKGROUND

Patients with a history of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection who are receiving immunosuppressive therapy are at risk of HBV reactivation and disease. Therefore, HBV screening is required prior to administering antirheumatic drugs with immunosuppressive effects. This study aimed to determine the status of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb), and hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb) screening prior to the initiation of drug therapy, including new antirheumatic drugs, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

METHODS

This retrospective cross-sectional study used data from April 2014 to August 2022 from the Japanese hospital-based administrative claims database. The inclusion criteria were rheumatoid arthritis and first prescription date of antirheumatic drugs.

RESULTS

A total of 82,282 patients with rheumatoid arthritis who were first prescribed antirheumatic drugs between April 2016 and August 2022 were included. Of the eligible patients, 9.7% (n=7,959) were screened for all HBV (HBsAg, HBsAb, and HbcAb) within 12 months prior to the date of initial prescription. The HBsAg test was performed in 30.0% (n=24,700), HBsAb test in 11.8% (n=9,717), and HBcAb test in 13.1% (n=10,824) of patients. The proportion of patients screened for HBV infection has been increasing since 2018; however, the proportion of patients screened for rheumatoid arthritis remains low.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that HBV screening may be insufficient in patients who received antirheumatic drugs. With the increasing use of new immunosuppressive antirheumatic drugs, including biological agents, healthcare providers should understand the risk of HBV reactivation and conduct appropriate screening.

Public and patient perspectives on the use of clinical and administrative health data to identify and contact people at risk of future illness-The case of chronic kidney disease

For decades, researchers have used linkable administrative health data for evaluating the health care system, subject to local privacy legislation. In Ontario, Canada, the relevant privacy legislation permits some organizations (prescribed entities) to conduct this kind of research but is silent on their ability to identify and contact individuals in those datasets. Following consultation with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, we developed a pilot study to identify and contact by mail a sample of people at high risk for kidney failure within the next 2 years, based on laboratory and administrative data from provincial datasets held by ICES, to ensure they receive needed kidney care. Before proceeding, we conducted six focus groups to understand the acceptability to the public and people living with chronic kidney disease of direct mail outreach to people at high risk of developing kidney failure. While virtually all participants indicated they would likely participate in the study, most felt strongly that the message should come directly from their primary care provider or whoever ordered the laboratory tests, rather than from an unknown organization. If this is not possible, they felt the health care provider should be made aware of the concern related to their kidney health. Most agreed that, if health authorities could identify people at high risk of a treatable life-threatening illness if caught early enough, there is a social responsibility to notify people. While privacy laws allow for free flow of health information among health care providers who provide direct clinical care, the proposed case-finding and outreach falls outside that model. Enabling this kind of information flow will require greater clarity in existing laws or revisions to these laws. This also requires adequate notification and culture change for health care providers and the public around information uses and flows.

Clinical decision support and electronic interventions to improve care quality in chronic liver diseases and cirrhosis

Significant quality gaps exist in the management of chronic liver diseases and cirrhosis. Clinical decision support systems-information-driven tools based in and launched from the electronic health record-are attractive and potentially scalable prospective interventions that could help standardize clinical care in hepatology. Yet, clinical decision support systems have had a mixed record in clinical medicine due to issues with interoperability and compatibility with clinical workflows. In this review, we discuss the conceptual origins of clinical decision support systems, existing applications in liver diseases, issues and challenges with implementation, and emerging strategies to improve their integration in hepatology care.

HCV universal EHR prompt successfully increases screening, highlights potential disparities

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES

Screening for hepatitis C virus is the first critical decision point for preventing morbidity and mortality from HCV cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma and will ultimately contribute to global elimination of a curable disease. This study aims to portray the changes over time in HCV screening rates and the screened population characteristics following the 2020 implementation of an electronic health record (EHR) alert for universal screening in the outpatient setting in a large healthcare system in the US mid-Atlantic region.

METHODS

Data was abstracted from the EHR on all outpatients from 1/1/2017 through 10/31/2021, including individual demographics and their HCV antibody (Ab) screening dates. For a limited period centered on the implementation of the HCV alert, mixed effects multivariable regression analyses were performed to compare the timeline and characteristics of those screened and un-screened. The final models included socio-demographic covariates of interest, time period (pre/post) and an interaction term between time period and sex. We also examined a model with time as a monthly variable to look at the potential impact of COVID-19 on screening for HCV.

RESULTS

Absolute number of screens and screening rate increased by 103% and 62%, respectively, after adopting the universal EHR alert. Patients with Medicaid were more likely to be screened than private insurance (ORadj 1.10, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.15), while those with Medicare were less likely (ORadj 0.62, 95% CI: 0.62, 0.65); and Black (ORadj 1.59, 95% CI: 1.53, 1.64) race more than White.

CONCLUSIONS

Implementation of universal EHR alerts could prove to be a critical next step in HCV elimination. Those with Medicare and Medicaid insurance were not screened proportionately to the national prevalence of HCV in these populations. Our findings support increased screening and re-testing efforts for those at high risk of HCV.

The Delta Delta: Gaps in screening and patient assessment for hepatitis D virus infection

Hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection is highly prevalent in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). AASLD guidelines recommend a risk-based screening approach. Our aim was to ascertain if the risk-based approach leads to appropriate HDV screening, identify targets to improve screening rates, and study HDV clinical burden. CHB patients screened for HDV from 01/2016 to 12/2021 were identified. Level of training and specialty of providers ordering HDV screening tests were determined. HDV seropositive (HDV+) patient charts were reviewed for the presence of individual risk factors per the AASLD guidelines to determine if they met screening criteria. The severity of liver disease at the time of HDV screening was compared between the HDV+ group and a matched (based on age, hepatitis B e antigen status, BMI and sex) HDV seronegative (HDV-) group. During the study period, 1444/11,190 CHB patients were screened for HDV. Most screening tests were ordered by gastroenterology (90.2%) specialists and attending physicians (80.5%). HDV+ rate was 88/1444 (6%), and 72 HDV+ patients had complete information for analysis. 18% of HDV+ patients would be missed by a risk-based screening approach due to unreported or negative risk factors (see Table). A significantly higher number of HDV+ patients had developed significant fibrosis (p = 0.001) and cirrhosis (p < 0.01) by the time of screening than HDV- (n = 67) patients. In conclusion, targeted interventions are needed towards trainees and primary care clinics to improve screening rates. Current risk-based criteria do not appropriately screen for HDV. It is time for universal screening of HDV in CHB patients.

Engaging Physicians and Systems to Improve Hepatitis C Virus Testing in Baby Boomers

Approximately three million people in the United States have been exposed to the hepatitis C virus (HCV), with two-thirds of these having chronic HCV infection. Baby boomers (those born 1945-1965) have nearly five times the prevalence of HCV infection compared with other age groups. Despite clinical practice guidelines that recommend HCV testing in baby boomers, the testing rates remain low. We developed and tested a multilevel intervention to increase orders for HCV testing that included integrated clinical decision support within the electronic health record (EHR) and a physician education session to improve HCV physician knowledge in one Florida academic health system. In the year prior to the intervention, test order rates for encounters with baby boomers was 11.9%. During the intervention period (August 2019-July 2020) for providers that viewed a best practice alert (BPA), the ordering increased to 59.2% in Family Medicine and 64.6% in Internal Medicine. The brief physician education intervention improved total HCV knowledge and increased self-efficacy in knowledge of HCV risk factors. These findings suggest that interventions at the system and physician levels hold promise for increasing HCV testing rates. Future studies are needed to evaluate this intervention in additional clinical settings and to test the benefit of adding additional intervention components that are directed at patients.