Comparison of Telemedicine to Usual Care for HCV Management for Methadone-maintained Individuals

Stepped-Wedge Randomized Control Trial to Compare Integrated, Co-located, Telemedicine-based HCV Management for Individuals on Opiate Agonist Treatment Versus Usual Care Treatment of HCV of Individuals on Opiate Agonist Treatment

To compare the effectiveness of a patient-centered, opiate agonist treatment (OAT)-integrated telemedicine-based approach for management and delivery of hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment to persons with substance use disorders (PWSUD) versus usual care, which we anticipate in most cases will be referral to an offsite location for HCV management. The effectiveness will be expressed through the primary patient centered and clinical outcome, achievement of viral eradication, defined as undetectable HCV RNA 12 weeks post-treatment cessation.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Hepatitis C
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Telemedicine

Detailed Description

The study is a non-blinded stepped wedge cluster randomized controlled trial with two arms: onsite HCV management through telemedicine versus HCV management through usual care, referral to an offsite hepatitis specialist (Referral). The arm assignment is at the cluster (clinic) level. After an initial period (9 months) in which all clinics implement the control intervention (usual care), at regular intervals (i.e., the "steps") of 9 months duration each, one group of clinics is randomized to cross over from the Usual Care arm to the Telemedicine arm. The process continues until all clinics have crossed over to implement telemedicine, and thus all clinics contribute data to both interventions. In addition, patients cured of HCV are followed for two years post-treatment cessation to assess for reinfection or relapse of HCV RNA.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 602
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • New York
    • Buffalo, New York, United States, 14216
      • Andrew H Talal

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. HCV antibody detected
2. Ability and willingness of subject or legal representative to provide written informed consent.
3. 18 years of age
4. A minimum of 12-month enrollment in the opiate agonist treatment program
5. Likely to be adherent to the therapeutic regimen
6. Covered by medical insurance

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Mental instability or incompetence, such that the validity of the informed consent or ability to be compliant with the study is uncertain.
2. <18 years of age
3. < 12 months enrolled in an opiate agonist treatment program.
4. Non-compliance with therapeutic regimen defined as three consecutive missed appointments that will result in a discussion between the principal investigator at the site and the study participant to determine the reason for the missed appointments. Continuation in the study for the participant will be assessed on a case-by-case basis between the study PI and the site PI.
5. Lack of medical insurance coverage
6. Ineligibility for HCV treatment
7. Active treatment for HCV at the time of the study enrollment

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control; Referral-HCV seropositive subjects enrolled for at least 12 months in an opiate agonist treatment (OAT) program will be referred to an off-site liver specialist
Other: Intervention; Telemedicine - HCV seropositive subjects enrolled for at least 12 months in an OAT program will be treated on site by a liver specialist via two-way video conferencing. (telemedicine)	Other: Telemedicine; Patients will be linked with the provider via two-way video-teleconferencing facilitated by an onsite OAT program staff member; Other Names: Two way video conferencing

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Observed Percentage of Patients in Both Arms Who Achieve Viral Eradication	Percentage of patients who achieve viral eradication (defined as undetectable HCV RNA for 12 weeks post treatment cessation)	12 weeks post treatment cessation

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Comparison of Treatment Initiation Percentages	Comparison of treatment initiation percentages between the two arms, as measured by the percentage of patients that take an initial medication dose.	Up to 160 weeks
Comparison of Treatment Completion Rates	Comparison of treatment completion percentages between the two arms.	Up to 210 weeks
Comparison of Patient Satisfaction	We assessed patient satisfaction with healthcare delivery between the two arms through the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ) (1). The instrument is comprised of 18 questions from 7 subscales with responses on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from "1=Strongly Agree" to "5=Strongly Disagree". We administered the PSQ-18 at baseline and at the SVR time point. The higher the scored value, the higher the satisfaction. We calculated the score per participant, per time point, as the average of the scored values of all questions answered out of 18, and subsequently rounded the average score to the nearest integer (2).; Marshall GN, Hays RD. The patient satisfaction questionnaire short-form (PSQ-18). Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 1994.; Talal AH, Sofikitou EM, Wang K, Dickerson SS, Jaanimagi U, Markatou M. High Satisfaction with Patient-Centered Telemedicine for Hepatitis C Virus Delivered to Substance Users: A Mixed-Methods Study. Telemed J E-Health, 2023; 29: 395-407.	Baseline (initial time point) and at time HCV is cured, i.e., sustained virological response (up to 210 weeks).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Andrew Talal
• Collaborators: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Andrew H Talal, MD, SUNY Buffalo

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Talal AH, Sofikitou EM, Wang K, Dickerson S, Jaanimagi U, Markatou M. High Satisfaction with Patient-Centered Telemedicine for Hepatitis C Virus Delivered to Substance Users: A Mixed-Methods Study. Telemed J E Health. 2023 Mar;29(3):395-407. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2022.0189. Epub 2022 Aug 4.

Helpful Links

• Related Info
• Related Info

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 28, 2017
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 1, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): November 1, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 24, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 13, 2016
• First Posted (Estimated): October 14, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 6, 2024
• Last Verified: December 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Blood-Borne Infections; Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Virus Diseases; Digestive System Diseases; Liver Diseases; Hepatitis, Viral, Human; Communicable Diseases; Flaviviridae Infections; Hepatitis; Hepatitis C
• Other Study ID Numbers: Telemedicine vs. Usual Care

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: At the completion of the study, the data will be filed with the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and will be publicly availability.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No