24 January 2023
The Hepatitis C Point of Care Testing Forum will take place in Paris on the 24 and 25 of April, adjacent to the Global Hepatitis Summit. This high-level meeting will discuss the rollout of point-of-care testing technologies, share best practices, and consider lessons learned. It is open to point-of-care researchers and healthcare practitioners implementing point-of-care programs.
Although great strides have been made in the treatment of HCV, with direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy now highly effective and straightforward to administer, the burden of HCV remains high. Globally, HCV testing and diagnosis remain low, and there are still many barriers to linkage to care, which have led to a decline in treatment initiations with DAA therapy.
Point-of-care hepatitis C testing (antibody and RNA testing) are key interventions demonstrated to improve the HCV care cascade. Rapid scale-up of programs using point-of-care is required to meet elimination targets and meet the needs of the estimated 58 million people living with hepatitis C.
What you will learn
This forum, organised by the International Network on Health and Hepatitis in Substance Users (INHSU), in collaboration with the Global Hepatitis Summit organisers, the Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination (CGHE), FIND, The Kirby Institute, UNSW, Treatment Action Group (TAG), and Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) will:
- Discuss innovations in HCV diagnostic technologies to enhance the scale-up of point-of-care HCV testing
- Share best practices and models for the implementation of point-of-care HCV testing globally
- Highlight successful models for the scale-up of point-of-care HCV testing
- Highlight barriers and facilitators for the implementation and scale-up of point-of-care HCV testing
- Discuss and share experiences of implementing key components of point-of-care testing programs (e.g. operator training, quality assurance programs, IT/connectivity solutions)
- Highlight the INHSU HCV Intervention Toolkit, an interactive online toolkit that provides synthesised evidence, practical how-to guides and tools, and real-life case study examples of interventions, including point-of-care testing
How to attend
- Date & Time: Monday, April 24, 2 pm – 6 pm and Tuesday, April 25, 9 am – 1 pm
- Location: The Pullman Montparnasse, Paris, France. Adjacent to the Global Hepatitis Summit
- Cost: The forum is free to attend, and you do not need to be a delegate of the Global Hepatitis Summit
- How to attend: The Hepatitis C Point of Care Testing Forum is invite only. To express your interest in the event, please email your name, role, organisation and interest in HCV PoC to [email protected]
