ONE SOURCE OF THE TRUTH – MULTI AGENCY APPROACH TO FIND PEOPLE WITH UNTREATED HEPATITIS C IN PORTSMOUTH, UNITED KINGDOM

Author: Hansford L, Bowes S, Cameron-Green K, Wilson W

Theme: Models of Care Year: 2025
Background:
UKHSA estimates 62,600 people in the UK are living with untreated and/or undiagnosed hepatitis C (HCV). Due to disparate IT systems, there is no single source of truth regarding HCV status. This project aimed to improve patient care by interrogating electronic patient systems and collaboration across disciplines to locate and engage individuals with HCV in Portsmouth. The team manually and systematically addressed these gaps to create a holistic, patient-centered approach to inform treatment pathways.

Model of Care/Intervention:
This model of care combined initiatives and data interrogation across different electronic records to identify individuals with untreated HCV and offer point-of-care testing and treatment linkage. A total of 63,911 searches were conducted across GP, drug service, and hospital records, using both automated and manual methods.

Merck, Sharp & Dohme (UK) (MSD) in collaboration with NHS England developed the Patient Search Identification software to identify HCV risk factors and diagnoses within primary care records. A similar search system was applied to drug service records, and hospital records were reviewed to identify patients with RNA+ status.

Effectiveness:
GP records: The MSD tool searched 62,750 records, identifying 167 patients coded with HCV. Further exploration confirmed 33 as untreated, including 4 currently accessing drug services.

Drug service records: 1,161 records were searched, identifying 194 patients with HCV antibodies. Of these, 73 had either a positive or unknown RNA result, leading to the identification of 12 unique patients requiring treatment.

Data accuracy: 216 patient records were updated or corrected, improving completeness across disciplines.

Conclusion & Next Steps:
This approach successfully identified people with untreated HCV, enabling engagement in testing and treatment, reducing liver disease risks and associated healthcare costs. The model enhances data quality and patient engagement through multi-agency approaches. Future steps include expanding electronic record searches and exploring MSD software application across other healthcare disciplines.
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