Hepatitis Screening in Community Pharmacies as a Measure of Reducing the Rate of Infections

Abstract

The burden of dealing with HBV and HCV still remain despite the progress that has been made in screening, vaccination, and treating the infections. On average, there about 354 million cases of hepatitis globally. Hepatitis has high mortality rates. On average, 1.1 million people lose their lives to the infections each year. Addressing hepatitis requires rigorous measures one of them being increasing screening. Hepatitis infections are identified through screening. As such, screening and taking the right preventative and treatment measures can help to reduce the risk of infections. However, screening is still a challenge. The number of people who screen for hepatitis remains low despite the efforts that have been put in place to increase uptake. The uptake of screening is low because of inadequate access to screening centers. Thus, increasing screening settings can help to increase uptake. Community pharmacies can help to bridge this barrier by making screening more accessible. They are accessible and in close proximity to vulnerable populations, which makes them ideal as screening settings. This review explores the potential of community pharmacies as screening settings for HBV and HCV and whether they can help to reduce the rate of infections.
 Keywords: screening, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, community pharmacies