BRIDGE HCV

This activity is jointly provided by Purdue University College of Pharmacy and Integritas Communications.

This activity is supported by independent educational grants from Gilead Sciences, Inc., and AbbVie Inc.

Target Audience

This educational initiative is intended for addiction center clinical staff, social-services professionals, case managers, peer educators, peer advocates, and non-clinical office staff.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this program, addiction-services specialists will be better able to:

• Discuss national and local epidemiologic data on HCV-positive people who inject drugs (PWID) that support consistent screening of at-risk individuals
• Provide counseling to HCV-positive PWID on the feasibility, efficacy, and overall health benefits of HCV treatment 
• Refer HCV-positive PWID to community-based HCV treaters for confirmatory HCV testing and direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy
• Educate PWID on harm-reduction principles and practices to prevent HCV reinfection after successful DAA therapy

Program Description

This exciting grassroots initiative will tap into the strengths and resources of communities in inner-city and metropolitan areas to provide effective therapy for HCV-positive PWID. Expansion of DAA treatment to individuals with recent or ongoing injection drug use can lead to substantial reductions in HCV prevalence and transmission, benefiting both the individual and the community. These benefits are especially effective when combined with harm-reduction interventions.¹ Strong local HCV-care networks with structured collaboration further help build bridges to HCV-infected PWID and allow these high-risk individuals access to the care they need and deserve.²

1. Grebely J, Dore GL. Treatment of HCV in persons who inject drugs: Treatment as prevention. Clin Liver Dis. 2017;9(4):77-80.
2. Gonzalez SA, et al. Medical and behavioral approaches to engage people who inject drugs into care for hepatitis C virus infection. Addict Disord Their Treat. 2017;16(2 suppl 1):S1-S23. 
3. Wilson DP, et al. The cost-effectiveness of harm reduction. Int J Drug Policy. 2015:26(suppl 1):S5-S11.

Physician Accreditation Statement

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of Purdue University College of Pharmacy and Integritas Communications. Purdue University College of Pharmacy, an equal access/equal opportunity institution, is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Physician Credit Designation

Purdue University College of Pharmacy designates this Live activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Pharmacist Accreditation Statement

Purdue University College of Pharmacy is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. This is a knowledge-based, continuing education activity of Purdue University, an equal access/equal opportunity institution. Universal Activity Number (UAN): 0018-9999-19-034-L01-P, 1.0 contact hour (0.1 CEU).

Nurses Accreditation Statement

Purdue University Continuing Nursing Education is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.  This program has been approved for 1.0 contact hour.  

Social Worker credit is being applied for, but is not guaranteed at this time.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

The Purdue University College of Pharmacy requires instructors, planners, managers, and other individuals who are positioned to control the content of this activity to disclose any real or apparent conflict of interest (COI) they may have as related to the content of this activity. All identified COI are thoroughly vetted and resolved according to The Purdue University College of Pharmacy policy.  The existence or absence of COI for everyone in a position to control content will be disclosed to participants prior to the start of each activity.

Americans with Disabilities Act

Event staff will be glad to assist you with any special needs (ie, physical, dietary, etc). Please contact Nora Eldasher prior to the live event at neldasher@integritasgrp.com.

Fee Information

There is no fee for this educational activity.

Purdue Contact Information

For information about the accreditation of this program, please contact Dawn Sinclair at The Purdue University College of Pharmacy at sinclaid@purdue.edu or 765-494-5457.