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New drugs offering a cure for hepatitis C patients hit the market a few years ago with jaw-dropping price tags. A 12-week course of treatment could eliminate the deadly liver infection, but at a cost of nearly $100,000.
So Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger Health Plan sought to ensure it would get the most bang for its buck by eliminating variation in treatment and improving the quality of care.
The health plan reached out to Geisinger clinicians to come up with a standardized process for treating hepatitis C. Taking a bottom-up approach, it asked care teams of physicians, nurses and pharmacists and others to determine best practices, including which drugs work best for which patients, what lab tests are needed, and how often does a physician need to follow up?