Hep C Case Study

Pros: Screening for Hep C would allow the spread and transmission of hepatitis to be significantly decreased by increasing the amount of cases that are caught and treated and increased prevention as many cases could be prevented by individuals knowing their status. Screening for Hep C also leads to improved patient engagement in their care and in interactions with medical providers, through which patients can speak with the providers about other things that are of concern or could become an issue, apart from Hep C. The total disease burden of Hep C would be decreased as screening would reduce the amount of cases that progress into the later stages, decreased costs for treatment of Hep C in the later stages, other comorbidities can be caught, and some cases of Hep C can be prevented from increased screening and awareness. …show more content…
Many individuals are involved in screening, which must be reimbursed, not taking into account the increased usage of equipment and supplies to administer and obtain blood samples. If only a relatively few individuals are Hep C positive or exposed to Hep C, aggressive efforts for screening may not have a societal benefit and may be a waste of resources when viewed through a cost benefit lens. In a similar branch of thinking, similar to the rates of prostate cancer, mass screenings of Hep C, or any condition, may lead to an artificially increased rates, as if we are specifically looking for something we are more likely to find it. This may cause a sudden increase of Hep C incidence, when in reality these cases already existed in the population, but were just not diagnosed. Mass screenings can lead to over diagnosis and in some cases false positives, these both create anxiety in individuals and can lead to population