Following is a summary of the article titled “Oregon gets $7.5M US grant to treat HCV with telehealth, peer support”. Note, state agencies, LiverRight can help build/execute a version of this for HCV, too, and all forms of adult liver disease.
- A three-year program in Oregon has been awarded a US$7.5 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to improve access to care for people in rural areas who use recreational drugs.
- The focus is on expanding testing and treatment for chronic infections like Hepatitis C (HCV) among those populations, via telehealth + peer-support models.
- With the new funding:
- The program will be scaled to cover 20 of Oregon’s 36 counties.
- It will offer same-day HCV testing and aim for treatment initiation within ~6 days.
- It will also provide resources for other substance-use related conditions (e.g., HIV, opioid use disorder), and mental health support.
- One of the key premises: peer support (people with lived experience) helps patients navigate the system, build confidence, and engage with care more fully.
- A quote: “Over the next three years, we’re going to change the way rural people who use drugs access health care.” — Hunter Spencer (associate professor, OHSU)
Bottom line: The grant enables a telehealth + peer-support model to bring HCV testing and cure to rural drug-using populations in Oregon, with encouraging prior trial data showing big improvements in treatment uptake and cure rates.
