All About Telehealth for Hepatitis C Telehealth allows doctors to care for people virtually over a phone call, text message, or most commonly, video chat. Although some situations require an in-person visit, telehealth is a great option when you can't get to the doctor's office for your hep C. If you're new to telehealth, here's what you need to know. Medicare will cover telehealth visits just like in-person visits, but state Medicaid programs and private insurers vary, so confirm your coverage in advance. With telehealth, even though you're not in the doctor's office, your private health information is still covered by HIPAA, so it will remain confidential and secure. Although your hepatologist can't give you a physical exam via telehealth, they can write prescriptions and offer quality care, especially if you prepare in advance. Before your telehealth appointment:- Ask if there's anything you should do ahead of time, like adjust your diet- List any hep C symptoms (including dates and severity), like bleeding or bruising easily, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, leg swelling, or drowsiness and slurred speech- Note any side effects from your hep C medications or injections- Record your vital signs if you own a blood pressure monitor, thermometer, or another device- Compile a list of your health conditions and all medications, including injections- Write down any questions you have for your hepatologist- Charge your computer or phone- Make sure your internet is reliable- Download any telehealth apps your specific provider may require- Find a quiet, private space to conduct the call- Be prepared with pen and paper or a note-taking app Turn to Healthgrades to connect with the right hepatologist to treat hepatitis C via telehealth. And share this video to spread the word!

Worldwide, there's about 180,000,000 people with hepatitis C; this is not a small disease. 20% of people who get hepatitis C get over it. The overwhelming majority of people who get hepatitis C don't know when they got it. It is an infrequently symptomatic illness, until years later. It's contagious by blood contamination, so again, needle sharing, not sharing cocaine nasal tubes, but also in your family, obviously, not letting your teenage daughter borrow your razor. Because if you nicked yourself, conceivably that could be a transmission. It is not in semen, it is not in vaginal secretions, it is not in spit, sweat. It is much less contagious than, say, HIV. Up until two years ago, there was interferon injections weekly that made you feel like you had the flu, usually too ill to work. Plus, a variety of pills, at least six, and up to 19. The problem is it was a 50% success rate even if you went through it, with lots of side effects, like anemia, muscle aches, rashes. In the last two or three years there have been breakthrough discoveries on how to treat the virus, and of course these new treatments are remarkably safe. One pill a day, no side effects, eight weeks, 98% effective. We don't have that many things that are 98% effective. Given the alternative these are still impressive breakthroughs.

I was sick but I didn't know why I was sick. I was just laying there for like three weeks. Went to the doctor, did some blood work, I have hep C. I had too much to live for. I figured if I could conquer drugs and alcohol, then I could beat having liver disease. My last treatment, I was cleared - no virus and I was ready to go back to work, get my strength back, my appetite back, grow my hair back and just be productive and I'm so glad. But I couldn't have done it without my support system. My daughter goes to my doctor's appointment, bringing me to my doctor's appointments. When I couldn't drive, I was just that weak, it was real, real tough. What I tell people who just found out that they have hepatitis C is "Breathe. Get your support system, get your doctor." And I just tell them, "Educate, most of all educate yourself. The quicker you get on treatment, the better your outcome will be. Share your story." My treatment might not be like yours was, but in our stories, we can help somebody else to overcome and do a treatment and know that it's light at the end of the tunnel.

Let me start by saying that when I see patient with hepatitis C, the first thing I actually do is just try to reassure them. Because people come in in a panic. They think it's the end, it's the end of their life. Almost 80% of people with hepatitis C will die from other causes not related to the hepatitis C. The Centers for Disease Control has realized that there are a lot of people out there with hepatitis C, probably 75% of people with hepatitis C don't even know they have it because they really don't have any known risk factors. So the Centers for Disease Control, just in the last year or two, has recommended what we call birth cohort screening and that's where they're recommending screening anyone born between 1945 and 1965. So it's no longer considered a disease of people who did drugs or got blood transfusions; there are a large number of people out there with hepatitis C who have no known risk factors. You really don't get symptoms, on the average, until you get cirrhosis, which is what we think of as complete scarring in the liver. But otherwise, most people don't know they have it. They only found out they have it because they have routine blood testing in their liver tests, in particular, the AST and ALT, which are liver enzymes. Now, we're getting a cure rate of 95%, if not higher. The treatment could be as short as eight weeks, more commonly 12 weeks, and probably no longer than 24 weeks. So patients have some power within themselves to kind of talk with your doctors about these things and they should ask their doctor, "Do I need to be screened for hepatitis C? Have you checked my liver tests?" There are many people out there with hepatitis C from all walks of life, from all types of experiences, a lot of things that people did when they were young, in their twenties, maybe even doing now, but it's nothing to be ashamed of. Because shame will only prevent you from getting the treatment and the help that you need.

When my third child was born, I had a repeat Caesarean section; that was in 1986. I bled for many hours after that and got about six units of blood. That's how I got it but I didn't know about it for quite a while. Four years later, I gave blood and I got a letter from the American Red Cross saying that I had tested positive for what they were now calling hepatitis C. Years later, I was not feeling very well. At this point in time I would have had it 14 years, and 15 years is about when liver damage starts. The trial tests that I started in 2001, I was one of 100 patients and at the end of six months they terminated because it was not helping. I started another round. The interesting thing was that immediately, almost, I was a responder this time. I started feeling better and I have felt better since then and that's been 10 years. Even though I'm carrying this virus, it's not affecting me. Hepatitis C may not be as bad as you've heard or as you think. Find a doctor that you can trust, go with what he advises you to do. I am a case that has known for a very long time that I was a carrier, and I've had help along the way in dealing with it. It has not been the major event of my life, at all.

I've never been a very emotional person, but when I found out that I was cured of hepatitis C, I actually cried, and my wife cried, and my mother cried, and any other close family member that found out about it cried, and that's not me. I contracted hepatitis C from a blood transfusion in 1981 following a motorcycle accident. Every treatment seemed to last longer as far as the ill effects. Now my last treatment only lasted for 12 weeks. It was difficult at first, and then it weaned off a bit and it was not as bad and because it was only a 12-week treatment it was very doable. This final treatment was my fourth treatment, so I did three previous and the fourth one was a positive outcome. Before I was treated and became hep C-negative, I really didn't see much of a long-term future in my life, to be honest with you. Even though I was not showing signs and symptoms of hepatitis C, I just knew the possibilities. Hepatitis C has not affected the relationship with my wife; if anything it's drawn us closer together. It's very important to have the support of family and friends, spiritually and emotionally. Since I've been treated and successfully negative of hepatitis C, my future seems like I do have a future.