2023 Program Plans

Our initiatives will focus on transforming the future of liver disease by sharing best practices and driving implementation of knowledge. Key themes will be optimizing the relationships with patients and providers. We do this through the understanding of new medical innovations, the patient experience, drive understanding and awareness through the healthcare team, and the collection and analysis of patient-centered information.

The mission of the CLA through these initiatives is to unite patients, providers and the health industry to deliver the best possible care and develop new, scalable solutions for the fight against liver disease.

2023 program goals include:

  • Collect, summarize and transparently share data for better outcomes in liver disease prevention and treatment.
  • Develop educational materials for both the patient and the provider.
  • Develop collaborative projects to address gaps in liver disease awareness, screening, intervention, diagnosis, referral and treatment .
  • Raise much needed funds and awareness through our annual fundraising events to support patient assistance programs, research and advocacy efforts.

APPALACHIA VIRAL HEPATITIS ELIMINATION SUMMIT

The first central Appalachian hepatitis C elimination summit will be held in the fall of 2021 with a focus on eliminating viral hepatitis C in people who use drugs. Plan by key stakeholders representing central Appalachian states, including those with lived experience, the summit will allow for learning, networking and collaboration through sessions to talk about expanding the role of harm reduction in preventing hepatitis C infections and increasing access to hepatitis C testing and treatment in high-risk populations.

LIVER JOURNAL CLUB

Our new Liver Journal Club series will be held each quarter. Topics include HCC/PBC, Fatty Liver/NASH, Viral Hepatitis, Cirrhosis and other liver conditions. Presentations are given by medical fellows to an audience of their peers and other health providers to critically evaluate recent articles in the academic literature.

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PATIENT EDUCATION

Clinical Trials Educational Video

NASH Update
The NASH Update is an annual interactive conference directed at the patient and caregiver. Content includes education about screening recommendations, lifestyle modification, current treatment options, drug trials, pediatric diseases, healthy cooking and physical activity demonstrations. A concurrent provider CME session educates hepatologists, gastroenterologists, primary care physicians and other health care providers involved in the management of patients with liver disease about NASH/NAFLD, both pharmacologic and endoscopic, emerging nutritional and weight management research related to NASH/NAFLD, extra-hepatic manifestations associated with NASH, management options and screening options.

PBC Update
Developed in conjunction with PBC patients, this educational program will include up-to-date information about PBC treatments, developments, clinical trials, transplantation, nutrition, resources, support, and more. The goal of PBC Update is to educate, connect, and support patients, caregivers, and providers in an open, informative setting through concurrent patient and provider sessions.

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PROVIDER EDUCATION

Alcoholic Liver Disease Conference

This program is another opportunity for the Community Liver Alliance to help clinicians, service providers, patients and their caregivers to understand the more about alcoholic liver disease. The program will educate both clinicians and patients and provide updates on current and pipeline therapies, resources, and provide networking opportunities with the region's liver experts through concurrent patient and provider sessions.

Clinical Trials Provider Video

The CLA is developing separate provider and patient clinical trial videos with subject matter experts. The purpose of clinical trials is to find new and improved methods of treating, preventing, screening for, and diagnosing different diseases. Our clinical trial videos are a way to inform patient and providers about the process and to make an informed decision if they choose to participate.

Disparities in Liver Diseases

The CLA Disparities in Liver Disease program empowers us to address health disparities, including differences that occur by gender, race or ethnicity, education or income, disability, geographic location, or sexual orientation. These health disparity populations constitute a large proportion of patients with liver disease and evidence suggests that these populations are disproportionately affected by several common hepatic disorders, which include viral hepatitis, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, access to liver transplantation and hepatocellular carcinoma. Our patient and provider engagement through this virtual program will reach diverse and high-risk communities, build bridges to healthcare, access to services and resources. Our aim is to affect health and racial equity among the most vulnerable individuals.

HCV Roundtables
The HCV Roundtable Discussion Series is designed to support the providers who participated in the CLA HCV Treatment Training. The sessions offer an opportunity for participants to convene in an informal setting with subject matter experts to examine their HCV patient cases and to share information and feedback with each other.

HCV Speaker Series
The CLA HCV Speaker Series is an opportunity for anyone currently treating patients with HCV to be educated by subject matter experts on specific topics which may include, addressing reinfection, screening and treating pregnant women, monitoring and treating children, and novel approaches to screening and treatment in a rural setting. We will also provide a post-program evaluation to gather feedback on additional topics of interest.

Hepatitis C Learning Lab
The overarching goal of this project is to advance hepatitis C prevention for people who inject drugs by supporting harm reduction services, advocacy, and education across West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Indiana, and Kentucky through grant making and technical assistance. The Learning Lab Program will engage HEP Connect Grantees with experiential learning and mentorship by subject matter experts. This program, which will focus on 5 core competencies;(Communication, Leadership, Business Basics, Building Relationships, and Personal Branding) will have as its end goal, the expansion of harm reduction services to persons who use drugs (PWUD). Our aim is to instill new proficiencies to enhance their existing skills and knowledge. Investing in individual development will inspire racial equity, and justice by bringing down silos and biases through better interactions with diverse audiences and individuals. The program will be developed by people with lived experience and other subject matter experts to ensure we achieve the best possible outcomes and to collect data for analysis, reporting and program improvement.

Hepatitis C Provider Network
In collaboration with the National Harm Reduction Coalition, the CLA convenes monthly virtual HCV Provider Networking meetings with enduring education, networking and actionable information. The HCV Provider Network reaches clinicians to educate on the importance of harm reduction services and as it relates to hepatitis C prevention and actively engages them to become advocates to inspire change. Members of the HCV Provider Network serve on the central Appalachia Viral Hepatitis Elimination Summit planning committee. HCV Provider Network members will also serve as mentors, educators and planning committee members for the Learning Lab Program. The HCV Provider Network will actively advocate to expand harm reduction services within their communities through education, activism and support. The Network will offer expert testimony to bring down statutory barriers, provide trainings and education to preserve harm reduction services, access to hepatitis C screening, treatment and linkage to care.

Hepatitis D Education Program
The CLA hepatitis D Patient and Provider Education Program would be a pilot program focused on the Asian &Pacific Islander population as it relates to Hepatitis B and D. Through education outreach in these communities we would raise awareness to screening and treatment of not only this vulnerable population but also the health care providers who treat them. Our goals of the program are:

  • Provide information/education to patients and providers.
  • Develop a guide for screening for providers.
  • Create a Hep D webpage for resources.
    Digital downloads available as resources.
  • Provider information to give to patients.
    Conduct focus population screening activities.
  • Outreach to community centers, Asian-American churches, Asian-American radio, APAMSA, Asian-American minority owned business and associations for collaborations.
  • Translated materials into Hmong (Asian), Vietnamese and other Asian languages.

Liver Cancer Provider Roundtables

The Community Liver Alliance (CLA) will hold discussions aiming to gather information from key opinion leaders with respect to research, development, and strategies for treating patients with cancer. There is a need to make the lifecycle management of diagnosing, managing and treating in the evolving patient environment. The Roundtable Discussion is an open interaction between scientists, providers and other stakeholders on how to invest in a robust framework – a framework to facilitate better interconnectedness and thus improve the lives of patients with cancer, considering all types of diversity.

Liver Cancer Conference
The goal of the Liver Cancer Conference is to help clinicians and other service providers understand the management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in the US population, innovations in therapies, and advances in research and development. This program is directed to providers, patients and caregivers. Concurrent educational sessions will be held for hepatologists, gastroenterologists, oncologists, primary care physicians and other health care providers involved in the management of patients with liver cancer. A separate session will be geared towards patients and their caregivers.

The Liver Update: New discoveries from the 2021 AASLD Liver Meeting Virtual CME Program
The goal of the CME program is to bring the key findings of the 2021 AASLD National Conference to the broader liver community to learn about current trends, management techniques, recent innovations, and research to treat a full range of liver conditions, including Fatty Liver/NASH, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Cholestatic Diseases, Pediatric Liver Diseases and Liver Transplantation.

Treating HCV in a Primary Care Setting
The goal of this course module is to help clinicians and other service providers understand the local and regional picture of HCV, understand HCV screening recommendations, current treatment options, the diagnosis, how to treat HCV patients, and specific issues with vulnerable populations especially people who use drugs and as it relates to the opioid use disorder epidemic.

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