National Center for Ethics in Health Care
Protocol for Prioritizing HCV Treatment: An Ethical Framework
In April 2015, the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Patient Care Services and Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Clinical Operations established four workgroups to develop strategies related to the provision of hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment to VA patients. The National Center for Ethics in Health Care led the workgroup charged with developing an ethical framework as a basis for consistent, fair and transparent prioritization of HCV treatment based on clinical need.
The ethical framework begins with the premise that augmentation of VA resources for HCV treatment is preferable to any contingency plan that delays treatment because of resource shortages. It includes a prioritization protocol for implementation only after all attempts to secure sufficient resources have been exhausted.
The Center’s prioritization protocol and the full ethical framework supporting it are available in Protocol for Prioritizing HCV Treatment: An Ethical Framework.
For other VA materials related to HCV treatment, go to the Viral Hepatitis Intranet home page.