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Is an HCV cure rate of 100 percent realistic?

David E. Bernstein, MD, FAASLD, wants to break down the barriers preventing access to curative therapies for hepatitis C virus (HCV). Although antiviral therapy has led to a cure rate of more than 90 percent of HCV cases, Dr. Bernstein thinks more can be done to increase the cure rate.

In this DDW Daily News video exclusive, he discusses several obstacles preventing patients’ access to curative therapies, including cost concerns, public policy issues and insurance variations that have led to different state rules and regulations. Dr. Bernstein also addresses the benefits of HCV therapy and whether it’s possible to eradicate HCV and achieve 100 percent cure rate.

“It’s the only viral disease that we can actually cure, but from a public policy standpoint a significant portion of our population does not have access to these life-changing and curative therapies for unclear reasons,” says Dr. Bernstein, director of the Sandra Atlas Bass Center for Liver Diseases at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, East Garden City, NY.

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