Our Hepatitis C ECHO Project

Dear Colleagues, 

We are writing to invite your participation in an exciting new project which will allow you to build expertise in the evaluation and management of patients living with chronic hepatitis C.  UMass is launching its first ever Project ECHO® (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) teleECHO clinic on hepatitis C.  The clinic will launch on December 9th, 2016 and consist of weekly 60 minute-long sessions starting at 12:30pm on each Friday.  Each session will include a short didactic lecture on a specific topic relevant to the management of hepatitis C in primary care, and the rest of the time will be spent on discussing de-identified cases (submitted in advance), which serve as the nidus for in-depth discussions relevant to clinic care for patients with hepatitis C.

As you know, hepatitis C kills more people in this country than any other infectious disease according to data released by CDC this year.  Left untreated, it can cause progressive liver damage, and hepatitis C-associated liver disease is already the leading cause of liver transplantation in the United States.  Thanks to the development of new oral treatments in the last few years, a cure is now possible with fewer side effects.  The goal of this project is to assist providers like yourself to become regional experts in caring for these patients.  You will benefit, your patients will benefit, and the community as a whole will benefit. 

We look forward to your involvement in UMass HCV ECHO.  Please learn more about Project ECHO via this web page echo.unm.edu, or contact Jessica Salerni  Email Link directly to discuss personally.  If you would like to participate, please go to our signup form. LINK

Sincerely,
Jessica Salerni DO
Curtis Barry MD
Dan Mullin PsyD