Hep C Pharmaceutical Analysis

The majority of people with an acute Hepatitis C infection often do not know they have the virus and therefore do not get treated. However, if a person realizes that they may have been exposed to the virus – like a healthcare worker who gets a needle stick injury – an acute Hepatitis C infection can be identified early and medication can be administered. Chronic Hepatitis C is defined by the presence of the virus for 6 months or longer. Many people already have chronic Hepatitis C when they’re first diagnosed because they were unknowingly infected with the virus many years ago. Long term infection by the hepatitis C virus can result in liver scarring known as cirrhosis. This scarring can be treated with antiviral medications. People with little to mild scarring, otherwise known as early stage fibrosis, should still consider Hepatitis C treatment to avoid the long-term complications of the disease, even though they may not be at risk for many

This research paper is going to review today’s silent killer, the Hepatitis C virus. This paper will talk about the description of the disease, the signs and symptoms, the etiology and risk factors, diagnostic studies, treatments and prognosis of this disease. I had lived with this disease for over ten years before diagnosed so it is important to understand the signs and symptoms so the disease can be identified and a treatment plan can be identified as the sooner it is treated the more likely it will eradicate the disease.

A review of the records reveals the member to be an adult male with a birth date of 11/30/1964. The member has a diagnosis of chronic hepatitis C virus, genotype 1a. The member’s treating provider, Steven Zierer, MD has recommended treatment with the prescription medication, Harvoni 90mg – 400mg 1 tab daily for 12 weeks for this member.

Do you recall hearing about a single medication pill that costs about $1000 each pill? Well, it exists. Sovaldi was a newly approved drug in 2015 designed to treat hepatitis C with an estimated cost of $84,000 for a standard 12-week treatment course. In addition to Sovaldi, the list price of Harvoni, another hepatitis C medication, is estimated to be $95,000 for the 12-week treatment course.

The approved medicine is a combination of two medicines called Harvoni. The combination holds antiviral medicines Sofosbuvir and Ledipasvir. The effective combination takes around 8-24 weeks to heal the pain of HCV. Patients taking this new combination work as much as lower risk of dangerous side effects related to the typical treatment for hepatitis C virus. HCV medication online is available with this useful combination. Regrettably, the cost of these medicines is higher than normal medications. The higher cost of the medication simply means that some patients who require it might not be appropriate for it, but it has been called as a most important breakthrough in the treatment of hepatitis C.

A review of the records reveals the member to be an adult male with a birth date of 01/29/1976. The member has a diagnosis of chronic hepatitis C, genotype 1a. The member’s treating provider, Michael Cohen, MD recommended the member be treated with Harvoni.

About 4.1 million people in Americans have the positive antibody to hepatitis C virus (HCV), and about 75 percent have permeant infection. Additionally, most of the infections happened 20 to 40 years ago, before the finding of HCV. Hepatitis C increased from 7,000 to 13,000 deaths in 2005. Furthermore, HCV develops slowly which increases the risk of severe complications in the infected people. Identification, death, and treatment are predicted to affect 35,000 by 2030. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) used antiviral therapy with PEGylated in clinical trials (Kalichman, Washington, Kegler, Grebler, Kalichman, Cherry, & Eaton, 2015). The CDC recommends a HCV one time test for people born between 1945 and 1965. The objective of this study was to thoroughly evaluate the amount of substance abusers infected with hepatitis C in the United States. Additionally, to observe the treatment of HCV. Currently Medicaid and Medicare repayment standards for sofosbuvir were calculated in all states, including the District of Columbia. Medicaid and Medicare covered the drug based on the following conditions; liver disease stage, HIV, and drug use. Approximately 42 states reimbursed the following criteria up to 74 percent for the drug sofobuvir. About two-thirds of the United States restricted the treatment centered on prescriber type. About 88 percent included drug abuse in their sofosbuvir admissibility measures. Finally, 50 percent required a date of abstinence and 64 percent required

The increasing number of citizens that are testing positive for Hepatitis C is shocking and the epidemic is just getting worse. One out of every one hundred people in the general population has Hepatitis C, but the ratio is higher in prisons. One out of every six inmates has Hepatitis C (Wegner, Rottnek, Parker and Crippin, 2014). Hepatitis C (HCV) is a blood disease that is caused by a virus and it affects the liver. Unfortunately there is no vaccine to prevent this disease and I have seen first-hand how ugly this virus is. I have worked in the medical field for the past 6 years and I have a very close friend who contracted HCV. Unfortunately, she was one of the many people that needed a liver transplant. HCV has infected four times as

I am especially concern about the older population when it comes to Hep C. In the article it states that the population of people mostly affected by this virus is people born between the years 1945-1965 approximately 3.2 million. This includes my mother, my aunties, all of my client that I have worked with over the years and is still working with; the “baby boomers”. Signs and symptoms of the virus do not show up until weeks, sometimes months after being infected. Fever, feeling tired, poor appetite, nausea or vomiting, pain in your stomach, joint or muscle pain, is some of the symptoms manifested with this diagnosis. How can I protect myself when it is so easy to become infected from just a speck of blood being overlooked on a piece of clothing,

About 4.1 million people in Americans have the positive antibody for hepatitis C virus (HCV), and about 75% of them are persistently infected and most of the infections happened d 20 to 40 years ago, before the finding of HCV. Hepatitis C increased from 7,000 to 13,000 deaths in 2005. Furthermore, HCV develops slowly which increases the risk for severe complications in the infected people. Identification, death, and treatment is predicted to affect 35,000 by 2030. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) used antiviral therapy with PEGylated in clinical trials. The CDC recommends a HVC one time test for people born between 1945 and 1965.They observed testing by birth. The objective of this study was to thoroughly evaluate the amount of substance abuser infected with hepatitis C in the United States. Additional to observe the treatment of HVC. Currently Medicaid and Medicare repayment standards for sofosbuvir were calculated in all states including the District of Columbia. Medicaid and Medicare covered the drug based on the following classes liver disease stage, HIV, and drug use. Approximately 42 states reimbursed the following criteria up to 74% for the drug sofobuvir. About two thirds of the United States restricted the treatment centered on prescriber type. About 88% included drug abuse in their sofosbuvir admissibility measures. Finally 50% required a dated of abstinence and 64% required drug test. The latest drug to HVC is called Sovaldi and it costs $84,000 for the 12

Until 2011, the main therapy against the infection was Pegylated-interferon (Peg-IFN) and the ribavirin (RBV) treatment (11). Interferon is a type of protein that stimulates the immune system and helps halt the virus from spreading throughout the body. Pegylated-interferon is a combination of three types of interferon, including polyethylene (PEG), which helps the treatment remain in the body for a longer time period. Ribavirin is a medication that helps stop the HCV virus from replicating. It is commonly used in combination with interferon, which is referred to as the “Peg/riba therapy.” This combination therapy is more effective than the interferon itself. However, these medications do not have a one hundred percent cure rate and it was reported

wants to evaluated for hep C, was a IV drug use, multiful tatoos, and history of inprsionment. This is 32 year old white male. Patient is a resident at Aletheia House. Patient is a current smoker with 16 pack year history. Patient reports he had stoped using IV drugs on 6/26/2015 (second time clean, last was in 2011). Patient denies chest pain, SOB, N/V/D, or fever. Patient denies depressive moods. current pain 6/10.

Initially, the treatment for hepatitis C is a combination of two drug categories which are interferon and ribavirin (IDSA, 2016). Interferon works by stimulating the immune system to attack the hepatitis C virus cells (IDSA, 2016). Pegylated interferon works more efficient than standard interferon. Pegylated interferon is a long-acting type of interferon that is administered as an injection with significant side effects; consequently, many patients with HCV cannot continue taking it (IDSA, 2016).

If someone is getting tested for Hepatitis C, they will first take an antibody test. This test will detect if antibodies are present in the blood, which will tell if the person has ever had Hepatitis C, not if they currently possess it (“Who Should”). If the antibody test comes back positive, a qualitative test will then be run. This test declares tells if someone is currently infected with Hepatitis C. A quantitative test can also be run, which shows the amount of Hepatitis C that is in the blood (“Who Should”). There are two main medications that are used to treat Hepatitis C. The first being Pegylated Interferon and another being Ribavirin. Both medications are used for the treatment of adult patients with chronic liver disease (FDA). These medications are used in place of the vaccine that has not been created for Hepatitis C. Therefore, Hepatitis C can be detected easily and is treatable.

Sovaldi also known as Sofosbuvir is one of the latest anti- HCV drug in the market (Ollove, 2014). The drug has already been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) having gone through years of clinical trials. The drug’s claim to fame other than its high cost ($84,000 for 12 weeks of treatment or $1000 for one pill) is that it boasts of shorter treatment duration of about 3 months