Although the Royal College of General Practitioners and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence provide guidance for GPs on testing for hepatitis C, research suggests that the current practice of case-finding, testing, and treatment is not effective. This study examined the implementation of the HepCATT (Hepatitis C Assessment Through to Treatment) trial complex intervention, which consists of training practice staff; providing patient HCV posters and leaflets; and using an electronic patient record algorithm for proactive case-finding of patients with HCV infection risk factors or patients diagnosed >1 year previously with no evidence of referral for treatment. The intervention was found to be feasible and acceptable to staff, and could be effective in supporting primary care to follow hepatitis C infection testing and treatment guidelines. |