HAB HIV Core Clinical Performance Measures: 

Adult/Adolescent Clients Group 2

Performance Measure: Hepatitis C Screening 

OPR-Related Measure: Yes 

www.hrsa.gov/performancereview/measu

res.htm 

Percentage of clients for whom Hepatitis C (HCV) screening was performed at least once since the diagnosis 

of HIV infection

Numerator: Number of HIV-infected clients who have documented HCV status in chart1

Denominator: Number of HIV-infected clients who had a medical visit with a provider with prescribing 

privileges2 at least once in the measurement year 

Patient 

Exclusions: None 

Data Element: 

1. Is the client HIV-infected? (Y/N) 

a. If yes, is there documentation of the client’s Hepatitis C status in the 

medical record? (Y/N) 

Data Sources: 

• Ryan White Program Data Report, Section 5, Items 42 and 48 may provide data 

useful in establishing a baseline for this performance measure 

• Electronic Medical Record/Electronic Health Record 

• CAREWare, Lab Tracker, or other electronic data base 

• HIVQUAL reports on this measure for grantee under review 

• Medical record data abstraction by grantee of a sample of records 

National Goals, 

Targets, or 

Benchmarks 

for 

Comparison 

IHI Goal: 95%3 

National HIVQUAL Performance Data:4

2003 2004 2005 2006 

Top 10% 100% 100% 100% 100% 

Top 25% 99.4% 100% 100% 100% 

Mean* 86.2% 88.8% 90.5% 90.9% 

*from HAB data base

Outcome 

Measures for 

Consideration: 

o Hepatitis C- related mortality rates in the clinic population 

Basis for Selection and Placement in Group 2: 

Chronic hepatitis C infection is common in persons with HIV infection, and although it is a source of 

substantial morbidity and mortality, it may be amenable to treatment. HIV/ hepatitis C co-infection may 

predispose HIV-infected patients to liver toxicity from HAART5

 and HCV treatment may exacerbate the side 

effects of some ARV medications.6

Measure reflects important aspect of care that impacts HIV-related morbidity and focuses on treatment 

decisions that affect a sizable population. Measure has a strong evidence base supporting the use. 

US Public Health Guidelines: 

August 1, 2008 Page 9 
HAB HIV Core Clinical Performance Measures: 

Adult/Adolescent Clients Group 2

“All HIV-infected patients should be screened for HCV infection” 7 (6/14/02) 

References/Notes:

1

Unless there is concern about ongoing exposure (e.g., via active injection drug use), annual re-screening is 

not generally recommended. 

2

A “provider with prescribing privileges” is a health care professional who is certified in their jurisdiction to 

prescribe ARV therapy. 

3

IHI Measure reads, “Percent of Patients/Clients with Known Hepatitis C Status” 

(http://www.ihi.org/IHI/Topics/HIVAIDS/HIVDiseaseGeneral/Measures/PercentofPatientsClientswithKnow

nHepatitisCStatus.htm) 4

(http://www.hivguidelines.org/admin/files/qoc/hivqual/proj%20info/HQNatlAggScrs3Yrs.pdf) 5

AIDS Institute, New York State Department of Health. Criteria for the Medical Care of Adults with HIV 

Infection, Hepatitis C Virus Updated September 2004 [Text taken from the NYSDOH AI publication - 

"Criteria for the Medical Care of Adults with HIV Infection"] 

(http://www.hivguidelines.org/public_html/hep-c/hepc.pdf) 6

Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in HIV-1-Infected Adults and Adolescents 

(http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/ContentFiles/AdultandAdolescentGL.pdf) 7

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Guidelines for Preventing Opportunistic Infections Among 

HIV-Infected Persons — 2002 Recommendations of the U.S. Public Health Service and the Infectious 

Diseases Society of America. MMWR 2002;51(No. RR-8) (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/rr/rr5108.pdf or 

http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/ContentFiles/OIpreventionGL.pdf)

August 1, 2008 Page 10