How to build trustworthy hepatitis C services in an opioid treatment clinic? A qualitative study of clients and health workers in a co-located setting

BackgroundGiven the increasing burden of hepatitis C (HCV) related liver disease, innovative health care models are required to extend the reach of HCV care and treatment. Opioid substitution treatment (OST) clinics are places of high HCV prevalence. The OST clinic is a complex environment, quite distinct to other health care settings, with punitive regulations and practices, and a client population likely to be mistrustful of systems of authority. Nonetheless, trust is widely documented as essential to effective therapeutic encounters. This paper examines what is required to develop a trustworthy service in a place, the OST clinic, described by some critics as a site of “social control”.MethodsIn-depth interviews were conducted with 57 clients and 19 staff from four NSW pilot clinics participating in the Australian ETHOS study.ResultsInterview data were examined using Hall's framework of trust, involving five principle domains: fidelity, competence, honest, confidentiality and global trust. ‘Honesty’ was found to be key to participants’ establishing trust in the co-located service and its staff. However, the clinic site was also found to be a place of rationed trust, in which the themes of OST as “ruling peoples’ lives” and the fear of repercussions resulting from perceived transgressions against clinic rules, threatened to over-ride or undermine the development of trust in HCV services. Client participants described trusting health workers “to a point”. They expressed concerns about the fidelity of co-located HCV and OST services and described fears of “institutionalised lies” and breaches of confidentiality. Anxieties around the latter revealed a sense of “us and them” held by some clients, one in which health workers were perceived to “stick together” by putting their own interests before those of the clients.DiscussionAlthough the co-location of HCV and opioid treatments makes intuitive policy sense, HCV health workers in the OST space may be seen as representatives of a deeply mistrusted system. For the effective development of a trustworthy HCV care service, policy and practice activities are required to engender trust through clearly articulated explanations of service boundaries and the promotion of “success stories” through trusted peer networks.     

Perspectives on privacy in the pharmacy: The views of opioid substitution treatment clients

BackgroundMany pharmacists practise in settings in which protecting privacy can be difficult. To address this, some community pharmacies are rearranging their retail space to provide private areas for clinical consultations. Such facilities are deemed particularly important when dealing with clients who have sensitive medical conditions, such as opioid dependence.ObjectiveTo explore Opioid Substitution Treatment (OST) patients’ perceptions of privacy in a community pharmacy setting, with a particular focus on the layout of the community pharmacy.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with OST clients. Recruitment and the interviews were conducted at state government drug and alcohol clinic. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analysed in NVivo using the framework approach.ResultsWe interviewed fourteen OST clients. Most participants were concerned about privacy and considered that the pharmacy layout could enhance or hinder privacy. However, they disagreed about exactly which pharmacy layout was most privacy-protecting. In addition, a small group of clients interviewed who had a very positive relationship with pharmacists believed that the relationship contributed to their confidence that their privacy was protected.ConclusionsThere is little consensus amongst consumers about how to protect privacy in the community pharmacy. The range of views expressed by clients in this study may reflect the lack of consensus about the nature of privacy in health ethics. Attention to the meaning of and rationales for privacy protections may be helpful when designing pharmacy layouts to meet the needs of a broad range of consumers. An enclosed or screened private area which can be used as a consultation area for all private pharmacy discussions, including for OST dosing, could be a solution to addressing these varying views on privacy in the pharmacy. Further attention to enhancing the pharmacist and client relationship may assist in reducing sensitivity about privacy.     

Does place of residence matter? Contextual effects and smoking in Christchurch

AIM: To analyse the relationship between residential segregation and smoking and quit rates in Christchurch. METHOD: The study used a nested research design, which examines the extent to which variations in adult smoking rates at the meshblock level are, when holding socio-economic status constant, also influenced by the socio-economic profile of the census area units or wider communities within which they are located. RESULTS: Smoking and quit rates are not only related to levels of local neighbourhood (meshblock) deprivation, but also depend to a large extent on whether such neighbourhoods are located in socially segregated or more socially mixed parts of the city. The findings provide added support for the independent influence of contextual effects on smoking behaviour. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that attempts to further reduce smoking should target places as well as people.     

Medical Reasons for Limiting Drinking: Data from a Sexual Health Clinic

Background: Heavy drinking poses health risks for individuals with HIV, and some individuals with HIV attempt to reduce drinking. Little is known about whether medical reasons motivate HIV-infected individuals to reduce drinking. Objectives: We evaluated medical reasons for limiting drinking among patients in a sexual health clinic, and explored whether these reasons could be operationalized as a new scale for research and clinical use in sexual health clinics. Methods: A sample of 70 patients in a sexual health clinic who reported efforts to limit drinking in the past month (84% with self-reported HIV; 81% male; 50% Black) completed a nine-item medical reasons for limiting drinking scale on a tablet while waiting for their appointment. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to evaluate psychometric properties of the scale. Results: Patients most commonly endorsed general concerns about health, and concerns about alcohol’s effect on the liver. Support was found for a unidimensional (one-factor) eight-item scale, which evidenced good internal consistency (α?=?0.84). Results were identical when analyses were restricted to the subset of 59 individuals who self-reported HIV infection. Conclusions/Importance: This study suggests that individuals in a sexual health clinic most commonly endorse broad nonspecific concerns about drinking and health, as well as concerns about their liver. This study yields an 8-item scale to measure medical reasons for limiting drinking in sexual health clinics and among individuals with HIV. This scale should enhance researchers’ ability to study this important construct and may facilitate discussion of drinking reduction with HIV-infected heavy drinkers, requiring future study.     

Application of a discrete choice experiment approach to support the design of a hepatitis C testing service in primary care

BackgroundAscertaining the acceptability of healthcare provision to service users is an important factor in promoting service uptake, especially for populations who are reluctant to access care. This study identified the attributes of a Hepatitis C (HCV) testing service for people prescribed Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) and used their expressed preferences to guide design of a service, using an applied health economics approach.Materials and methodsPreferences of OST users were elicited using a discrete choice experiment. Important attributes for HCV testing were partly pre-determined by the research question and also identified using literature review and focus groups. Predetermined attributes included choice of provider and financial incentives. Other important attributes were place of testing; travel distance; attitudes and staff undertaking testing; waiting time for test results and incentive payment. The relative importance of defined attributes was assessed in 103 OST users attending 6 pharmacies from Dundee.ResultsOST users preferred testing at their “own pharmacy”, by their drug worker, followed by their general practitioner (GP). Use of another pharmacy was the least preferred option. Being treated with dignity and respect was valued most highly, with waiting time for test results and travel distance also important. Financial incentives were not considered important.ConclusionsThis study provides evidence that OST users prefer testing at their own pharmacy. The addition of a pharmacy to the providers offering HCV testing may increase uptake and support policies to eliminate HCV from our communities. Being treated with dignity and respect was highly valued and this suggests that testing uptake can be increased by developing positive relationships between OST users and test providers. Financial incentives were not found to be important.     

An intervention to improve HCV testing,linkage to care,and treatment among people who use drugs in Tehran,Iran: The ENHANCE study

BackgroundGlobally, HCV testing, linkage to care and treatment is sub-optimal among people who use drugs (PWUD). This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an innovative intervention to enhance HCV testing, linkage to care, and treatment initiation among PWUD in Tehran, Iran.MethodsENHANCE is a non-randomized trial evaluating the effect of on-site rapid HCV antibody testing, venepuncture for HCV RNA testing (HCV antibody positive only), liver fibrosis assessment, and linkage to care to enhance direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy (sofosbuvir/daclatasvir) initiation for HCV among people with a history of drug use. Recruitment was from April 2018 and will continue to July 2019, through three opioid substitution treatment (OST) clinics, five community-based drop-in centres, and one homeless reception centre. Participants initiated DAA therapy at a specialist clinic (OST clinics) or on-site (other sites), with monitoring provided on-site or at the specialist clinic (for those with cirrhosis attending OST clinics).ResultsAmong 632 participants enrolled (median age, 44 years), 97% were male, 28% had a history of injecting drug use, and 58% had used drugs within the previous year. HCV antibody prevalence was 27%; 62% and 15% among those with and without a history of injecting drug use. Among 170 HCV antibody positive participants, 168 had HCV RNA testing (99%), of whom 134 (80%) were positive. Among HCV RNA positive participants, treatment initiation was 84%: 100% (45/45), 96% (46/48) and 54% (22/41) in OST clinics, drop-in centres, and homeless reception settings, respectively.ConclusionFollowing on-site HCV testing and linkage to care, HCV treatment uptake was extremely high among PWUD, apart from the homeless reception population. This intervention could be explored in other settings globally to enhance HCV scale-up and elimination efforts.     

Association between neighbourhood socioeconomic characteristics and high-risk injection behaviour amongst injection drug users living in inner and other city areas in Montréal,Canada

BackgroundArea-level socioeconomic conditions are associated with epidemic rates of viral hepatitis and HIV amongst urban injection drug users (IDUs), but whether specific socioeconomic markers are uniformly related to IDU outcomes across different urban environments is unclear. We evaluated whether injection behaviour is differentially related to neighbourhood socioeconomic characteristics for IDUs in inner city vs. surrounding urban areas.MethodsThe study population was 468 active IDUs on the Island of Montréal. Neighbourhoods were represented as 500 m radius buffers around individual IDU dwelling places. High-risk injection behaviour (HRIB) was defined dichotomously. Relations between neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage (percentage households below low-income cutoff), neighbourhood educational attainment (percentage adults with university degree), and HRIB were assessed using multivariate logistic regression. Stratified analyses were conducted for inner city IDUs (n = 219), and those in surrounding areas (n = 249).ResultsSimilar proportions of IDUs in inner city and surrounding areas reported HRIB. Neighbourhood socioeconomic characteristics were not associated with HRIB for IDUs in surrounding areas. For inner city IDUs, those in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods were more likely to practice HRIB (OR 4.34; 95% CI 1.15–16.35). Conversely, inner city IDUs residing in lower educational attainment neighbourhoods had a lower odds of HRIB (OR 0.41; 95% CI 0.21–0.80).ConclusionHRIB did not vary according to urban environment but for inner-city IDUs was differentially related to socioeconomic markers. Associations between HRIB and neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage and lower educational attainment, positive and negative, respectively, indicate that adverse socioeconomic circumstances are not related to a uniformly greater likelihood of HRIB.     

Plague control in Madagascar: evaluation of the efficacy of Kartman baitboxes in urban areas

A method associating an anticoagulant rodenticide and an insecticide called Kartman bait-box aimed both at fighting reservoir and vectors of plague. It was evaluated in two neighbourhoods of Antananarivo (Madagascar) from October 2002 to May 2003. It involved the local community in the control. The study was carried out in Ambodirano-Ampefiloha refered as treated neighbourhood in which the Kartman bait box were laid out with an anticoagulant rodenticide and an insecticide with a rapid action versus a "pilot neighbourhood", Ankorondrano-Andranomahery in which the boxes were provided with non poisoning bait and non insecticidal white powder. The rodenticide used was Baraki (difethialone 25 ppm) and the insecticide was a powder of Propoxur 3%. The evaluation of effectiveness of this method was based on the four following parameters: (1) the number of dead rats collected daily inside and in the vicinity of the houses, (2) the daily number of baits non consumed in the Kartman bait box, (3) the cheopis index of the rats trapped using the BTS trap, and (4) the flea carrier index of the rats captured monthly with BTS trap. The cheopis index and the flea carrier index of the rats were calculated monthly. The number of rats that died in the treated neighbourhood was of 968 versus 3 in the pilot neighbourhood. The other parameters reached a stable level after 3 months. Between days 120 and 180, the mean number of unconsumed baits was 2.79 in the treated neighbourhood versus 0.14 in the pilot neighbourhood, the flea carriage (percentage of parasitized hosts) was 0% versus 61% in the pilot neighbourhood, and the cheopis index was 0.0 versus 5.0 in the pilot neighbourhood. This study demonstrates that Kartman bait-boxes reached the rat borne and the vectors of plague found in urban area. We propose to use this method extensively both during epidemic and inter-epidemic contexts.     

Impact of Pharmacy Student Interventions in an Urban Family Medicine Clinic

Objectives. To determine the number of interventions made by pharmacy students at an urban family medicine clinic and the acceptance rate of these recommendations by the healthcare providers. The secondary objective was to investigate the cost avoidance value of the interventions.Methods. A prospective, unblinded study was conducted to determine the number and cost avoidance value of clinical interventions made by pharmacy students completing advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) in an urban family medicine clinic.Results. Eighteen students completed this experience in the 8 months studied. Of the 718 interventions performed, 77% were accepted by physicians, including 58% of the 200 interventions that required immediate action. Projected avoidance was estimated at $61,855.Conclusion. The clinical interventions by pharmacy students were generally well received by healthcare providers and resulted in significant cost savings. Pharmacy students can play an important role in a family medicine clinic.     

A primer for developing pharmacist-managed clinics in the outpatient setting

Pharmacist-managed clinics exist in many practice settings, such as physician offices, hospital-based outpatient clinics, and pharmacies. This article is intended to serve as a primer for pharmacists who wish to establish clinical pharmacy services in these settings. Recommendations for beginning this process are delineated. Information on building initial support, developing a needs assessment analysis, selecting the focus of new clinical services, developing a detailed clinic proposal, and marketing new services is provided. In a comprehensive review of how to develop a clinic proposal, the purpose, background information, proposed clinic structure, implications, assessment, billing issues, financial summary, and resources requested are discussed. Opportunities for financial compensation in various practice settings, such as the physician outpatient clinic, hospital-based outpatient clinic, and community pharmacy, are also reviewed.     

Establishing a pharmacy clinic in a city-county health department

During a one-year rotation at an urban-county health department, a pharmacy resident implemented a pharmacy clinic to serve three major purposes: (1) to provide health care to patients with selected chronic illnesses, (2) to expand the revenue base of the health department pharmacy, and (3) to make possible the clinical instruction of Doctor of Pharmacy students and pharmacy residents. The resident's activities in the clinic included conducting interviews, performing physical examinations, initiating and adjusting therapy, and counseling patients. During the first four months of operation, 36 patients were seen in the clinic a total of 98 times. Seven chronic illnesses, along with a number of minor acute disorders, were evaluated and treated by the pharmacist. The pharmacist billed $1740.00 for patient care activities. The success of this initial program indicates that similar pharmacy clinics would be of benefit to other colleges of pharmacy as well as other institutional ambulatory health care providers.     

医保支付方式改革背景下我院药物治疗门诊开展慢性气道疾病管理的SWOT分析

目的 研究适合我国当前药物治疗门诊发展的基本策略,为三级医院开展药物治疗门诊提供参考。方法 应用SWOT分析法分析在医保支付方式改革背景下我院药物治疗门诊开展慢性气道疾病管理具有的优势、劣势以及所面临的机会与威胁。结果 我院药物治疗门诊开展慢性气道疾病管理具有如下优势：①我院药物治疗门诊厚积薄发;②医生对药学服务需求以及认可度不断增加;③有独立诊室,工作日全天开诊。然而,也存在以下劣势：①患者对药师的认可度及知晓率不高,对收费需要有接受过程;②部分医生不知晓药物治疗门诊的存在及服务范畴;③药师临床知识储备与临床实践有差距。外部环境所提供的机会包括：①国家政策驱动发展;②部分省市地方医疗保障局支持;③临床以及患者对药学服务的需求不断增加;④提升患者医疗服务满意度。然而,也面临如下威胁：①制度及体系不完善;②处方权限制;③人力成本高。结论 药物治疗门诊药师要充分利用优势和机会,克服劣势和威胁,全面提高药物治疗门诊的服务质量。     

Location of community pharmacies: A rational approach using geographic information systems

The role played by community pharmacies in primary and community care and the extent to which they meet patient and customer needs has come under close scrutiny in Great Britain recently following publication of reports from the National Audit Office and House of Commons Public Accounts Committee.^1,2 Spatial variations in the provision of pharmaceutical services and their physical accessibility to different sections of the community are issues at the forefront of the current debate. This paper reports on recent research, being undertaken in the North West region, to develop a systematic approach to the analysis of community pharmacy location drawing on the fields of geodemographics (ie, neighbourhood classifications) and geographical information systems (GIS). Comprehensive information is being assembled about individual pharmacies, the services they provide, the types of residential neighbourhood in which they are located, their advice-giving role, and their proximity to general practitioners, other health care outlets and residential homes. Data sources include the pharmaceutical register, the family health services authorities (FHSAs) and surveys of pharmacists and health care professionals. This is being augmented with digitised boundary information including the road network and small area statistics on demographic structure, social conditions and deprivation. These data are being utilised within a computerised system to identify how well the current distribution of pharmacies accords with expectations and alternative resource deployment scenarios. Particular attention is being paid to the identification of gaps in provision and areas of over-provision.     

呼吸与危重症医学科咳喘药学门诊的建设实践与效果评价

目的 回顾性总结呼吸与危重症医学科（PCCM）咳喘药学门诊实践成果,与综合药学门诊进行成效对比,评估其药学服务价值,为其他医疗机构药学门诊的规划建设提供参考。方法 选取黄石市中心医院药学综合门诊2020年11月至2021年5月及PCCM咳喘药学门诊2021年11月至2022年5月就诊的哮喘病例,通过药学门诊病人用药评估指导单、病人吸入装置操作评定表,对比评价药学综合门诊和PCCM药学门诊的药学服务效果。结果 以药学综合门诊哮喘病人为对照组,PCCM咳喘药学门诊哮喘病人为干预组,病人自我用药情况评估,在知晓用药原因、用法用量、不良反应应对措施、药物相互作用方面,首次就诊：对照组为92例（64.8%）、109例（76.8%）、87例（61.3%）、85例（59.9%）,干预组为90例（65.2%）、107例（77.5%）、83例（60.1%）、80例（58.0%）,两组差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）,复诊或随诊时：对照组为118例（83.1%）、114例（80.3%）、98例（69.0%）、94例（66.2%）,干预组为132例（95.7%）、128例（92.8%）、123例（89...     

Directly observed hepatitis C treatment with opioid substitution therapy in community pharmacies: A qualitative study

BackgroundThe hepatitis C virus (HCV) will only be eliminated through successful engagement with people who inject drugs (PWID), however some of this population experience socioeconomic and individual issues that can lead to poor HCV treatment adherence. A key sub-group of (PWID) are those who receive opioid substitution therapy (OST). In Australia, OST is most often delivered under direct supervision by a community pharmacist every day or multiple times a week. This regular interaction could be an ideal opportunity to enhance direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment adherence under directly observed therapy (DOT) by the pharmacist.AimThe aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of OST patients with a lived experience of HCV to understand whether or not dispensing DAAs in the same way as, or simultaneously with OST would benefit HCV treatment.MethodsData collection occurred from June to August 2017. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of PWID living with HCV and on OST programs (n = 12) in Melbourne, Australia. Interviews were voice recorded and transcribed in verbatim. Interpretive phenomenology guided analysis of the data.ResultsThemes reported by participants that provide insight into the suitability of DOT of DAAs include: Adherence and non-adherence to DAA treatment; Mixed views towards DOT of DAAs; Experiences and perceptions of OST providers; and Perceived stigma in the pharmacy.ConclusionsCommunity pharmacies offering OST may be an effective place for DOT of HCV treatment, but is likely only to benefit people who face significant challenges to adherence. We suggest that a positive pharmacist-patient relationship, high OST adherence, and commitment to reducing stigma in the pharmacy would be necessary for the intervention to be effective. Further research is needed to evaluate the expanded-role of community pharmacies in improving DAA adherence and eliminating HCV.     

Client and staff experiences of a co-located service for hepatitis C care in opioid substitution treatment settings in New South Wales,Australia

Background

Internationally, there are ongoing efforts to increase access to hepatitis C (HCV) assessment and treatment to counter a generally low uptake of treatment among people with a history of injecting drug use. The aim of this qualitative study was to examine client and staff attitudes towards and experience of co-location of HCV and opioid substitution treatment (OST) services.

Methods

In-depth interviews were conducted with 57 clients and 19 staff from four NSW clinics participating in the Australian ETHOS study.

Results

Client and staff participants typically welcomed integrated treatment, citing issues of convenience, reduced travel time and costs, persistent cues to engagement and immediacy of access to care. Positive attitudes towards the initiative were expressed even by clients who had not engaged with HCV care. Providing co-located care largely avoided the negative, stigmatising or discriminatory experiences that participants reported encountering in settings less familiar with people who use drugs. A minority of client participants expressed concerns about the lack of privacy and/or confidentiality available in the co-located model, preferring to seek HCV care elsewhere.

Conclusions

The co-location of HCV care in OST clinics was welcomed by the large majority of participants in this study. Besides issues of convenience, the appeal of the co-located service centred on the familiarity of existing relationships between clients and staff in the OST setting. While some clients remained distrustful of OST and chose not to take up HCV care in this setting, the co-located treatment model was overwhelmingly successful amongst both client and staff participants.     

Rural access to clinical pharmacy services

ObjectivesTo examine the impact of rural residence and primary care site on use of clinical pharmacy services (CPS) and to describe the use of clinical telepharmacy within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) health care system.MethodsUsing 2011 national VHA data, the frequency of patients with CPS encounters was compared across patient residence (urban or rural) and principal site of primary care (medical center, urban clinic, or rural clinic). The likelihood of CPS utilization was estimated with random effects logistic regression. Individual service types (e.g., anticoagulation clinics) and delivery modes (e.g., telehealth) were also examined.ResultsOf 3,040,635 patients, 711,348 (23.4%) received CPS. Service use varied by patient residence (urban: 24.9%; rural: 19.7%) and principal site of primary care (medical center: 25.9%; urban clinic: 22.5%; rural clinic: 17.6%). However, in adjusted analyses, urban–rural differences were explained primarily by primary care site and less so by patient residence. Similar findings were observed for individual CPS types. Telehealth encounters were common, accounting for nearly one-half of patients receiving CPS. Video telehealth was infrequent (<0.2%), but more common among patients of rural clinics than those receiving CPS at medical centers (odds ratio [OR] = 9.7; 95% CI 9.0–10.5).ConclusionWe identified a potential disparity between rural and urban patients’ access to CPS, which was largely explained by greater reliance on community clinics for primary care than on medical centers. Future research is needed to determine if this disparity will be alleviated by emerging organizational changes, including expanding telehealth capacity and integrating pharmacists into primary care teams, and whether lessons learned at VHA translate to other settings.