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. 2024 Aug 30;16(9):1388.
doi: 10.3390/v16091388.

More than Just Buying a Van: Lessons Learned from a Mobile Telehealth HCV Testing and Treatment Study

Elyse Bianchet  1 , David de Gijsel  2   3 , Lizbeth M Del Toro-Mejias  1 , Thomas J Stopka  4 , Randall A Hoskinson Jr  1 , Patrick Dowd  1 , Peter D Friedmann  1
Affiliations

More than Just Buying a Van: Lessons Learned from a Mobile Telehealth HCV Testing and Treatment Study

Elyse Bianchet et al. Viruses. .

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) disproportionately affects people who inject drugs (PWID). Although HCV has become universally curable since the arrival of direct-acting antivirals, barriers exist to facilitating care and cure in this historically hard-to-reach population, including limited testing and healthcare services and healthcare stigma, issues that are compounded in rural areas. Telehealth is effective in increasing access to HCV care and cure, but innovative approaches of testing and care are required to fully address the need among rural PWID, which led to our study examining a mobile telehealth model for treating HCV. In this commentary, we discuss lessons learned delivering telehealth on a mobile unit, important factors for consideration when designing a mobile intervention, and we suggest an ideal model to increase access to HCV testing and treatment and other services for rural PWID.

Keywords: Hepatitis C virus (HCV); harm reduction; integrated care; mobile interventions; people who inject drugs (PWID); rural; telemedicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

David de Gijsel, is Chief Health Officer at Better Life Partners, clinical subcontractor on the DISCERNNE grant, and holds stock options. The authors declare no other conflicts of interest.

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