Viral Hepatitis Program
Our multidisciplinary group of physicians and health providers are committed to providing state-of-the-art therapy to our patients with hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections. We have a 50-year tradition of excellence in liver research and patient care, and continue to be international leaders on the study and treatment of liver disorders.
As a partner of the Yale School of Medicine Liver Center, one of only four liver research centers in the country sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, ours is the premier program in Connecticut offering comprehensive patient care for individuals with viral hepatitis.
Our Team
The key to effective disease management of acute and chronic viral hepatitis is our coordinated care among specially trained physicians, as well as a specialized nurse who provides teaching and psychological support. We enjoy close relationships with specialists in adult and pediatric gastroenterology, transplant hepatology, medical and transplant nephrology, transplant surgery, gastrointestinal pathology, diagnostic and interventional radiology, gastrointestinal surgery, rheumatology, OB/GYN, medical and surgical oncology, infectious diseases, the AIDS Care Program, psychiatry, and addiction medicine.
The Gastrointestinal Pathology program at Yale is the only subspecialty program of its kind in Connecticut, and provides expert consultative services for the most challenging liver pathology examinations in the region. We partner with Yale New Haven Hospital’s Nathan Smith Clinic in the management of patients with HBV/HIV and HCV/HIV co-infections, and with the Yale Liver Transplant Program in the pre- and post-transplant evaluation and management of patients with liver cirrhosis and end-stage liver disease.
Our Approach
We have four areas aimed at improving treatment and outcomes for viral hepatitis:
- Education: Providing formal education classes and individualized instruction sessions for patients with chronic hepatitis C infection prior to the initiation of antiviral therapy
- Treatment: Maintaining high standards of practice in treatment protocols and close coordination of care with referring physicians to provide the most advanced and scientifically based approaches to the management of viral hepatitis
- Research: Ensuring the opportunity for patient access to novel approaches in the treatment of viral hepatitis and liver disorders through clinical trials
- Community outreach: Building relationships with the surrounding communities of Greater New Haven and Connecticut to raise awareness about viral hepatitis, and to promote screening and education
Our Services
Special services offered by the Yale Viral Hepatitis Program include:
- Weekly multidisciplinary patient care conferences and liver pathology conferences to draw upon the varied expertise of our Yale Medicine physicians
- Coordination with the liver and kidney transplant programs
- Comprehensive services for diagnostic and interventional GI endoscopy, percutaneous and trans-jugular liver biopsy, paracentesis and trans-jugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt
- Formal mental health assessment for monitoring of psychiatric disease before and during treatment
- Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
- Coordinated, individualized care of pediatric and adolescent patients
- Noninvasive approaches to the assessment of liver fibrosis