Physician Nonadherence With a Hepatitis C Screening Program ("wide variation in overall adherence")

Qual Manag Health Care. 2014 January/March;23(1):1-9.

Physician Nonadherence With a Hepatitis C Screening Program.

Southern WN, Drainoni ML, Smith BD, Koppelman E, McKee MD, Christiansen CL, Gifford AL, Weinbaum CM, Litwin AH.

Author information

• Department of Medicine (Drs Southern and Litwin), Division of Hospital Medicine (Dr Southern), Division of General Internal Medicine (Dr Litwin), and Department of Family and Social Medicine (Dr McKee), Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York; Department of Health Policy & Management, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts (Drs Drainoni, Christiansen, and Gifford and Ms Koppelman); Department of Medicine (Drs Drainoni and Gifford), Division of General Internal Medicine (Dr Gifford), Section of Infectious Diseases (Dr Drainoni), Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts; Center for Health Quality, Outcomes and Economic Research, ENRM Veterans Administration Hospital, Bedford, Massachusetts (Drs Drainoni, Christiansen, and Gifford and Ms Koppelman); and Division of Viral Hepatitis, National Center for HIV/Viral Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (Drs Smith and Weinbaum).

Abstract

BACKGROUND::

Testing for patients at risk for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is recommended, but it is unclear whether providers adhere to testing guidelines. We aimed to measure adherence to an HCV screening protocol during a multifaceted continuous intervention.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS::

Prospective cohort design to examine the associations between patient-level, physician-level, and visit-level characteristics and adherence to an HCV screening protocol. Study participants included all patients with a visit to 1 of the 3 study clinics and the physicians who cared for them. Adherence to the HCV screening protocol and patient-level, physician-level, and visit-level predictors of adherence were measured.

RESULTS::

A total of 8981 patients and 154 physicians were examined. Overall protocol adherence rate was 36.1%. In multivariate analysis, patient male sex (odds ratio [OR] = 1.18), new patient (OR = 1.23), morning visit (OR = 1.32), and patients' preferred language being non-English (OR = 0.87) were significantly associated with screening adherence. There was a wide variation in overall adherence among physicians (range, 0%-92.4%). Screening adherence continuously declined from 59.1% in week 1 of the study to 13.7% in week 15 (final week). When implementing complex clinical practice guidelines, planners should address physician attitudinal barriers as well as gaps in knowledge to maximize adherence.