Why baby boomers need a hepatitis C screening

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-07/uomh-wbb072516.php

Public Release: 26-Jul-2016
Why baby boomers need a hepatitis C screening
Electronic medical record alerts contribute to dramatic rise in HepC screening
University of Michigan Health System

Baby boomers, adults born between 1945 and 1965, are five times more likely to have been exposed to the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

As a result, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Preventive Service Task Force recommend that all patients in that age group get tested.

But the simple blood test, designed to detect and prevent illness before the virus wreaks havoc, is infrequently performed on baby boomers whose routine medical appointments are often crammed with other preventive measures and tests -- as well as time spent addressing active problems that require a doctor's immediate attention.

Investigators at the University of Michigan Health System recently found an easy way to help primary care physicians ensure that an HCV screening is part of the routine: Electronic medical record alerts.

The automated alert, programmed to appear if a patient was within the at-risk age group, reminds doctors not only to issue the test but also provide educational materials about the virus.

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