![PCORI Funding for Hepatitis C Study]()
The Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has approved a $14 million collaborative project addressing the problem of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in people who inject drugs. Effective, safe new treatments are available but rarely reach this population because of cost and because physicians may hesitate to prescribe them. Good models for treating people who inject drugs already exist, among them “directly observed treatment” (the patient takes medication under supervision) or support from “patient navigators” (health workers who help and educate the patient). Principal investigator (PI) of the study at Einstein/Montefiore, and PI overall for the national study, is Alain Litwin, M.D.; he and his team will collaborate with seven other PCORI sites around the country, which collectively will enroll up to 1,000 HCV-infected patients to participate in the study. The researchers aim to determine which of these models produces the best results and is preferred by patients. Dr. Litwin is professor of medicine and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Einstein and an attending physician in medicine at Montefiore.
Posted on: Monday, January 04, 2016