Advances in Hepatitis B Management

Chari Cohen, DrPH, MPH, president of the Hepatitis B Foundation, sits down HCP live broadcast Discusses new treatment opportunities for hepatitis B, barriers and disparities in accessing adequate care, and her hopes for the future of hepatitis B management.

Cohen spoke at multiple sessions at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) 2023 Liver Conference, including “White House Hepatitis C Elimination Plan: What it means for you and your community” and “New Directions for WHO” “Global Guidelines for Hepatitis B Diagnosis, Treatment and Service Delivery”.

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a significant public health burden worldwide. Despite the existence of safe and effective vaccines, no therapeutic regimen has been identified to induce a functional cure. Many novel treatments are in development, and Cohen described recent advances as “exciting times,” citing the latest data presented at a liver conference.

In addition to advances in treatment, Cohen cited progress in access to treatment, new treatment guidelines, and hepatitis B biomarkers, and further discussed the importance of incorporating the patient voice into these processes.

“One of the things we’ve been doing as a patient advocacy organization and a public health research organization is looking for help integrating patient voice, patient values, preferences, and community values ​​into aspects such as guideline development and clinical trial development for hepatitis B and management to make it more patient-centered,” Cohen explained. “We would like to see some of this incorporated into the new guidance. “We would like to see patients given the opportunity to have a say in how they are treated. “

Clinicians also play a key role in the management of hepatitis B. Cohen describes how patients can become advocates, but also emphasizes the importance of clinicians being advocates as well, and using their voice and influence to help implement changes that patients may not be able to achieve on their own.

“Health care providers have a strong voice, and so does the medical community. I think if they took a more active role in advocating for people with hepatitis B, we would see more progress. Patient voice is certainly very important, but It’s also a stigmatized community that’s not necessarily loud enough and not everyone will listen,” Cohen said.

Cohen also pointed to other areas for improvement, noting that hepatitis B is not taken seriously globally, manifested by a lack of access to diagnostic testing, providers not screening and vaccinating, and their subsequent inability to use their own tools to treat and managing hepatitis B. Currently there are.

“We have to think about how we address challenges holistically with every stakeholder. So in the community we have to address stigma and discrimination, we have to address treatment access and cost, help facilitate people entering the health care system and getting tested, and receive treatment and vaccinations when needed, Cohen explained, describing the need to increase the capacity of health care systems around the world so that the burden does not fall solely on liver specialists, but rather through governments prioritizing hepatitis B elimination efforts. solve.

Going forward, Cohen hopes to see simplified and expanded treatment guidelines for hepatitis B. Specifically, she cited opportunities to decentralize care to improve patients’ access and give them a greater voice to influence decisions around their disease: “I think we can do a lot on that front,” Cohen said.