HHS to Announce Updated Plan on Viral Hepatitis
HHS officials including Assistant Secretary for Health Howard Koh, M.D., MPH, will participate in a launch event April 3 for the 2014-2016 update of the agency's Action Plan for the Prevention, Care and Treatment of Viral Hepatitis.
HHS officials including Assistant Secretary for Health Howard Koh, M.D., MPH, will participate in a launch event April 3 for the 2014-2016 update of the agency's Action Plan for the Prevention, Care and Treatment of Viral Hepatitis, which is a framework for stakeholders to strengthen the national response to viral hepatitis. The three-hour event (noon to 3 p.m. EDT) will feature two panels and will be streamed online live from HHS headquarters in Washington, D.C.
To view it, visit www.hhs.gov/live. Panelists will discuss ways to improve viral hepatitis prevention, screening, and treatment.
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Departments of Justice, Housing and Urban Development, and Veterans Affairs have developed the update, with these federal colleagues having identified more than 150 actions their agencies and offices will undertake during 2014-2016 in six priority areas:
The updated plan organizes actions around the following six priority areas:
- Educating providers and communities to reduce viral hepatitis-related health disparities
- Improving testing, care, and treatment to prevent liver disease and cancer
- Strengthening surveillance to detect viral hepatitis transmission and disease
- Eliminating transmission of vaccine-preventable viral hepatitis
- Reducing viral hepatitis associated with drug use
- Protecting patients and workers from health care-associated viral hepatitis
On April 3, the updated plan and other information will be posted to the Viral Hepatitis Action Plan page.