Hepatitis C Within a Single Health System: Progression Along the Cascade to Cure Is Higher for Those With Substance Misuse When Linked to a Clinic With Embedded Support Services

Background: Hepatitis C is now curable for most individuals, and national goals for elimination have been established. Transmission persists, however, particularly in nonurban regions affected by the opioid epidemic. To reach goals of elimination, barriers to treatment must be identified.

Methods: In this open cohort of all individuals diagnosed with active hepatitis C from 2010 to 2016 at a large medical center, we identified patient and clinic characteristics associated with our primary outcome, sustained virologic response (SVR). We performed a subgroup analysis for those with documented substance misuse.

Results: SVR was achieved in 1544 (41%) of 3790 people with active hepatitis C. In a multivariable Poisson regression model, SVR was more likely in individuals diagnosed outpatient (incident rate ratio [IRR], 1.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5-2.0), living in close proximity to the medical center (IRR, 1.2; 95% CI, 1.1-1.3), with private insurance (IRR, 1.1; 95% CI, 1.0-1.3), and with cirrhosis (IRR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.3-1.5). Achieving SVR was less likely in those qualifying as indigent (IRR, 0.8; 95% CI, 0.8-0.9) and those with substance misuse (IRR, 0.8; 95% CI, 0.7-0.9). In the subgroup analysis of those with substance misuse, SVR rates were higher in those linked to the infectious diseases clinic, which has embedded support services, than those linked to the gastroenterology clinic, which does not (IRR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.1-1.9).

Conclusions: Social determinants of health including proximity to care and poverty impacted achievement of SVR. Those with substance misuse, a high-priority population for treatment of hepatitis C, had better outcomes when receiving care in a clinic with embedded support services.