Hepatitis B Virus Screening Patterns amongst Physicians in Hawaii: Changes in a Decade

Abstract

Purpose: Hawaii had the highest incidence of liver cancer in the US and had a unique patient population with many immigrants from the Pacific and Asia where Hepatitis B virus (HBV) was endemic. HBV screening in high risk populations was a recommended measure of preventative medicine, thus we sought to examine physician screening patterns for HBV in Hawaii. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed billing claims from 1999 to 2009 from the largest healthcare coverage provider in the state of Hawaii. We identified all patients (>18 years) who underwent HBV screening based on Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) billing codes. We collected data on age, gender and specialty of physicians ordering the screening tests. Analysis was done in 2013 and 2014. Results: Of an estimated 700,000 covered lives, 125,576 patients underwent HBV screening. We stratified the patients into two eras from 1999-2004 (N = 52,245) and 2005-2009 (N = 73,331) to examine temporal trends. In the first era, 30,975 women (59.3%) underwent HBV screening, compared to 49,950 women (69.1%) screened in the 2005-2009 era. There absolute number of tests increased, but the proportion done by primary care MDs decreased from 55.6% to 44.9%. OB/GYN screened 15.6% in the early era and 26.9% in later era. Conclusions: There was an increase in women aged 18 - 40 years screened in the 2005-2009 era compared to 1999-2004, most likely due to OB/GYN physicians’ screening of prenatal women. Physician education on HBV vaccination/treatment or appropriate referral should include OB/GYN as well as primary care physicians.