NYCSHP’s second August CE Dinner Program in midtown Manhattan at Tony’s Di Napoli! President, Dr. Jason Babby, introduced this year’s NYCSHP board of directors. He made announcements regarding the upcoming board of directors meeting, upcoming networking events in September, the Breast Cancer Walk, and the exciting opportunity to volunteer at the New York City Marathon!

After announcements, President Babby introduced our guest speaker of the night,  Maria A. Sorbera, Pharm.D., BCACP, Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the Touro College of Pharmacy and clinical pharmacist at Brookdale Hospital and Medical Center. Dr. Sorbera presented, “A Treatment for All: Combating the HCV Epidemic in Unique Patient Populations.”

Dr. Sorbera described current trends in epidemiology of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and associated the public health burden. It is estimated that approximately 3.9 million individuals are diagnosed with HCV, but a number of U.S. residents are unaware that they are infected with the virus. Individuals co-infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have a higher rate of mortality.

Dr. Sorbera went over treatment regimens currently available for certain HCV populations, including patients with HIV/HCV co-infection, HCV with cirrhosis (compensated vs decompensated), and HCV with renal impairment. Dr. Sorbera stressed the importance of understanding your patient’s medical background to determine the most optimal and efficacious treatment for HCV.

Written by Gretchen Marcelino, Pharm.D. Candidate 2017, Touro College of Pharmacy
Edited by Johnny Hon, Jamie Chin, and Jason Babby
Photos by Gretchen Marcelino, and Jason Babby