Optimizing Hepatitis C Birth-Cohort Screening and treatment Allocation Strategy

Abstract

Chronic hepatitis C (HCV) is a significant public health problem affecting 2.7-3.9 million Americans. The U.S. healthcare systems are ramping up combined HCV screening and treatment efforts, but screening and treatment programs are very costly. We design optimal HCV screening and treatment allocation strategies in the next 10 years under yearly budget constraint from a national societal perspective. The methods include a two-stage simulation and a rule-based exhaustive search.