Hepatitis C Point-of-Care Screening in Retail Pharmacies in the United States.

Approximately half of adults with hepatitis C in the United States do not know their infection status, and the majority of persons who know they are positive for hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies fail to receive care. We conducted a screening program in retail pharmacies and calculated the percentages of anti-HCV-positive individuals and how many subsequently entered a pathway to care. At 45 Walgreens retail pharmacies in 9 US cities, direct store advertising was used to recruit individuals for HCV antibody testing. Participants were at least 18 years old with at least 1 HCV risk factor, such as being born between 1945 and 1965. One day per week at each site, a phlebotomist obtained consent from interested participants and performed the testing. Within 3 business days, an HCV management specialist contacted anti-HCV-positive individuals and provided test results and a pathway for obtaining HCV RNA testing. During the following 21 to 28 days, the same HCV management specialist telephoned individuals to determine whether they underwent an HCV RNA test. Between September 2015 and February 2016, 1298 individuals consented. Two patients withdrew consent after testing. In all, 8% (103/1296) were HCV antibody-positive; of them, 91 (88%) were contacted by an HCV management specialist. During the 21- to 28-day follow-up, 56 individuals (62%; 56/91) were reached by an HCV management specialist, and 29 (52%; 29/56) confirmed that an HCV RNA test was ordered. These results provide evidence in support of point-of-care HCV screening in retail pharmacies for at-risk individuals in the United States.