Blood-borne viral hepatitis infections are very common in the injecting drug user community. It is estimated that 40% of injection drug users have hepatitis C. 70% of new hepatitis C infections in the United States are linked to injection drug use. Addiction Medicine providers are key participants in screening for and linking to care / treating hepatitis C. To meet the World Health Organization goal of eliminating hepatitis C as a significant public health issues, Addiction Medicine providers will have to play a critical role. This presentation will review the epidemiology of HCV, the demographics of the current HCV epidemic and discuss screening and how to assess and treat those who are diagnosed with hepatitis C.

Once participants have completed this session, they will be able to:

(1) Trace the back-and-forth connections of substance use/abuse and communicable diseases; and,

(2) Identify the ‘gaps’ in systems designed to assist these individuals and how community partnerships and integrated care can positively impact these scenarios.