HCMSG - Hepatitis C Mentor & Support Group, Inc.
Search
  • About Us
    • Our Mission
    • Board of Directors
    • Medical Advisors
  • Resources
    • COVID-19
    • Harm Reduction
    • Hep C Risks
    • Hep C Facts & Stats
    • Medications and Treatments >
      • Patient Assistance Programs
    • Reading
    • Links
  • Programs/Training
    • The Circle Model >
      • THE CIRCLE Registration
      • Group and Facilitator Guide
      • Circle Sites
    • Hepatitis C Online Training
    • The Hepatitis C Education and Support Group Assistance Program
    • Healthcare Provider Training
  • Newsletter
  • Blog
  • Support Us
  • Contact Us

Why Aren't More Users Of Opioids Or Meth Screened For Hepatitis C?

1/16/2019

0 Comments

 
December 19, 20185:00 AM ET MICHELLE ANDREWS
When people seek help at a drug treatment center for an opioid addiction, concerns about having contracted hepatitis C are generally low on their list.
They've often reached a crisis point in their lives, says Marie Sutton, the CEO of Imagine Hope, a consulting group that provides staff training and technical assistance to facilitate testing for the liver-damaging virus at more than 30 drug treatment centers in Georgia.
"They just want to handle [their drug problem]," Sutton says. "Sometimes they don't have the bandwidth to take on too many other things."
And although health care facilities that serve people who use drugs are well-positioned to initiate screening, studies show that often doesn't happen.

SHOTS - HEALTH NEWSTreating Prisoners With Hepatitis C May Be Worth The Hefty PriceIt's an enormous missed opportunity, say public health specialists.
"It's a disease that can be cured the moment we identify somebody," says Tom Nealon, president and CEO of the American Liver Foundation. "Not testing is incomprehensible when you look at what hepatitis C does to their bodies and their livers."
As the number of people who inject drugs has soared, the rate of infection with hepatitis C — which is frequently tied to sharing needles — has climbed steeply, too.
People with a hepatitis C infection can go for years without symptoms, so may have no inkling they're sick. That delayed onset makes screening important, say health researchers, since infected people may unwittingly infect others.
Still, while screening people who misuse drugs can break the cycle of transmission, public health advocates say a number of obstacles — a lack of money, staff or other resources — may keep substance abuse facilities from going that route.

​TO CONTINUE READING: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/12/19/676417852/why-arent-more-users-of-opioids-or-meth-screened-for-hepatitis-c


0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Privacy Policy