When Dr. Collis joined the Hawaii Permanente Medical Group in 2001, he saw an opportunity to leverage resources to fight hepatitis C. The clinic was founded in 2004 with a modest budget and quickly doubled the cure rates of patients within Kaiser Permanente in Hawaii.
The approval of direct-acting medications such as Harvoni in late 2014 revolutionized hepatitis C treatment, increasing cure rates to 95% to 98% with minimal side effects.
An estimated 2 million adults in the U.S. have chronic hepatitis C, with new infections on the rise. Many patients are unaware they have the virus, as it often remains asymptomatic. Kaiser Permanente’s universal hepatitis C antibody screening and reflexive testing have accelerated the pathway for members to be cured.
Honolulu resident Paul Lance, one of the clinic’s early patients, was diagnosed with hepatitis C in 1986. After undergoing 11 months of treatment, Lance was cured. “I consider myself very lucky that it worked,” said Lance. “The viral hepatitis clinic is helping so many people, and I’m very, very grateful to them.”
Another Honolulu resident, who chose to keep her name confidential, was celebrated as the 1,000th patient cured. She discovered she had hepatitis C during routine blood work at one of her appointments and was immediately referred to the Kaiser Permanente Hawaii Viral Hepatitis Clinic. Despite her initial concerns — the patient mentioned how being diagnosed with hepatitis C can come with a stigma — she looks back positively on her experience.
“After I met with Dr. Collis and the team, I was like, all right, let’s do this,” she said. Talking to her care team was “just like a conversation with friends.”
She is thankful for her treatment and was relieved that she was able to continue working during her treatment. Today, she has completely changed her lifestyle. “I feel like I have a second chance at life. I changed my diet, I stopped drinking. I’m all for a healthy liver.”
“One thousand patients — it feels like both a big number and a small number at the same time,” said Dr. Collis. “To me, it feels like a thousand stories and a thousand lives whose trajectories have been transformed for the better. That’s a wonderful feeling and an incredible story to tell.”