Real-World Data Study Finds Universal Blood-Borne Virus Testing Improves Health Outcomes

November 11, 2022

A newly published study in Scientific Reports found that implementing universal blood-borne virus testing in a hospital emergency department increased rates of care utilization and improved outcomes. Moreover, universal blood-borne virus testing helped identify more infections in people with marginalized identities that face barriers to healthcare access.

According to , “We achieved a higher testing uptake than seen in previous studies, with this high testing rate continuing throughout the full 18-month period. This intervention was successfully continued for a further nine months (until 31 March 2020) when it had to be stopped (by switching off the reflex BBV testing attached to U&Es in the electronic laboratory ordering system) due to NHS England guidance on the prioritisation of laboratory testing during COVID. During the 2nd nine-month period between 1 July 2019 and 31 March 2020, BBV testing uptake within the ED remained high and was similar to testing uptake rates seen during the initial nine-month testing period (as described in Fig. 1): 51.5% for HIV (16,905/32,827), 49.7% for HBV (16,331/32,827) and 49.7% for HCV (16,318/32,827).”

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