Innovative Learning Model to be Used to Address Global Hepatitis B Burden

MANHATTAN, N.Y. - Feb. 3, 2023 - PRLog -- DKBmed LLC is partnering with Project ECHO, inventors of the ECHO model in which participants engage in a virtual community with their peers where they share support, guidance and feedback, to develop a multipart program to address the global HBV burden. This program will provide telementoring for clinicians in the US and Asia responsible for the care of patients at risk for or diagnosed with hepatitis B (HBV). This initiative, ECHO HBV Workshop, is the global sequel to DKBmed's successful workshop called ECHO HBV Bootcamp released in 2019.

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 300 million individuals globally live with chronic HBV infection, with 1.5 million receiving a new diagnosis each year. Prevalence varies by region, but the estimated prevalence of chronic HBV in countries such as the USA, China, and Thailand exceeds 90 million. Lack of symptoms in the early phases, coupled with the need for laboratory testing for disease confirmation, makes HBV diagnoses challenging; less than 11% of patients with HBV are aware of their active infection. Not all people with chronic HBV require treatment, but all require careful monitoring. And those who do require treatment are underrecognized and therefore undertreated.

Left untreated, HBV infection elevates the risk for long-term complications such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. In fact, the consequences of hepatitis B—cirrhosis and hepatocellular cancer—were responsible for 820,000 deaths worldwide in 2019.

More information on this program can be found at echo.dkbmed.com/programs/4

"The diagnosis and management of chronic HBV are complex matters, and many gaps in knowledge and practice remain unaddressed," notes Calvin Q. Pan, MD, FAASLD, FACG, MACP, Professor of Medicine at NYU Langone Health. "Within the United States, half of patients with chronic HBV infection with private insurance do not have a complete laboratory assessment. Another one-third of treatment-eligible patients do not receive antivirals. Educational initiatives that allow us to share our experiences and overcome barriers to providing best care are key, I think, to control HBV domestically and abroad in areas with high disease burden."

With the 2022 ECHO HBV Workshop, DKBmed brings HBV education to clinicians practicing in China, Thailand, and the United States to treat patients with or at risk for HBV infection. Two ECHO learning groups are based in the United States, two ECHO learning groups are in China, and one ECHO group is in Thailand. The groups will be led by expert faculty from each of the respective countries. Each group will consist of 15 to 20 clinicians who will collaborate on Zoom for four weeks across four different activities. Topics will include:

• Recognizing and capitalizing upon opportunities to screen patients for HBV
• Overcoming stigma associated with HBV diagnoses
• Evaluating the utility of newly approved and emerging medications used to treat chronic HBV