Grady Liver Clinic honored by the American College of Physicians for bringing comprehensive hepatitis C care to underserved in Atlanta

Atlanta’s Grady Liver Clinic has been awarded the American College of Physicians (ACP) Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Award from the Rosenthal Family Foundation. The award was presented at ACP’s Convocation Ceremony Thursday, April 11, 2019, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.

Established in 1976, the award is given “to that individual or organization whose recent original approach in the delivery of health care or in the design of facilities for its delivery will increase its clinical and/or economic effectiveness.”

The Grady Liver Clinic is an interprofessional, multidisciplinary, hepatitis C specialty clinic at Atlanta’s Grady Health System. Established in 1892, Grady’s mission is to improve the health of the community by providing quality, comprehensive health care in a compassionate and culturally competent manner. It remains committed to the indigent and underserved of Fulton and DeKalb counties, and leads through its clinical excellence, innovative research, and progressive medical education and training. The hospital is staffed by physicians on the faculties of Emory and Morehouse medical schools.

The Grady Primary Care Center provides more than 55,000 patient visits annually to a population that faces barriers to care which often lead to poor health outcomes. The Primary Care Center houses the Grady Liver Clinic, founded in 2002. The clinic is a unique model for hepatitis C care as it is run and staffed by general internists with expertise in hepatitis C treatment. The Grady Liver Clinic has become a model of excellence for non-traditional approaches to hepatitis C care as it improves access for patients with healthcare disparities. Using a multidisciplinary team approach including physicians, clinical pharmacists, nurses and patient navigators, the Grady Liver Clinic has been nationally recognized for implementing large scale hepatitis C screening and linkage to care as well as treatment programs. The Grady Liver Clinic has tested over 25,000 Grady patients for hepatitis C, revealed a 10% prevalence of infection, and treats approximately 500 patients annually with a 96% cure rate.

About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 154,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.