Background. Oral direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) provide an exceptional opportunity to treat hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Goals. We compared the treatment outcomes between specialty and primary care physician (PCP) clinics for patients treated with DAAs. Methods. We performed a retrospective analysis of patients treated for HCV in our PCP clinics and specialty; liver and gastroenterology clinics and gastroenterology clinics. We used the two-sided t-test and the chi-square test to compare the means of continuous and categorical variables, respectively. Results. Data from a total of 377 patients was analyzed (PCP clinic: n=185 and specialty clinic: n=192). There was no significant difference between age, race, and gender. Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) and Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) scores were comparable at baseline. Greater than 90% of the patients achieved sustained virological response (SVR) with no difference between the groups. Conclusions. Uncomplicated patients can be treated for hepatitis C by their PCPs with DAAs with similar treatment outcomes to specialty clinics. There should be explicit guidelines on patient eligibility for treatment by PCPs vs. specialists.

Key Points Question How common are payments from pharmaceutical companies and device manufacturers to gastroenterologists? Finding This cohort study of 15 497 gastroenterologists found that 86.9% received industry payments, with direct financial awards accounting for 62.7% of the total expenditures and 10 drugs accounting for 63.8% of the total payments. Twenty-nine of 36 recent guidelines included authors who had received industry payments. Meaning While mandated reporting of industry payments to physicians provides transparency, the practice remains common and may continue to affect the advice these physicians give to patients and peers.

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