What can close the gap between infection and treatment to eliminate infectious diseases in LMICs?
This question sits at the heart of many public health challenges and is particularly relevant for Hepatitis B in #Vietnam, where an estimated 9.6 million people are living with the virus, yet only 10% have been diagnosed.
While a rapid diagnostic test suitable for use outside health facilities with laboratory capacity was approved by regulatory authorities, access to testing remained limited to health facilities as of 2025. Community pharmacies, one of the most accessible healthcare touchpoints, had not been integrated into Hepatitis B case-finding efforts.
To explore a new approach, Gilead Sciences partnered with SwipeRx to build pharmacy skills and supply chains to offer Hepatitis B screening at community level. The results, recently published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS Global Public Health, demonstrate how technology-enabled pharmacy engagement can help translate testing availability into access and infectious disease management. Key findings include:
🔍 Community pharmacies can play a powerful role in case finding.
During the first six months after providing digital training and linkages with commercial suppliers of the approved rapid test, 84% of participating pharmacies identified at least one new Hepatitis B case, highlighting the untapped potential of pharmacies as a frontline channel for screening and referral.
📱 Digital engagement can trigger pharmacy stocking practices to expand access.
Accredited digital training, targeted digital campaigns, and in-pharmacy coaching connected pharmacists with the commercial supplier of the only rapid Hepatitis B test approved for use outside laboratory-equipped facilities, contributing to a three-fold increase in access to screening.
📦 Packaging matters.
Orders and repeat orders increased after SwipeRx negotiated with the manufacturer to import a smaller pack size of the tests, more suitable for use at community pharmacies compared to the 100-test pack sold to health facilities. This reduced inventory risk and facilitated stocking practices by trained pharmacists.
Pharmacists who completed the SwipeRx digital training introducing Hepatitis B screening tests, were nearly three times more likely to stock Hepatitis B rapid diagnostic tests and reported significantly higher confidence in using the test with their unvaccinated customers.
The findings reinforce an important lesson for public health programs: successful infectious disease management requires more than testing availability at hospitals. Closing the gap between infection and treatment requires community-level access to screening. Pharmacy-focused platforms, such as SwipeRx, can be used to quickly scale improvements in pharmacy skills and supply chains to quickly integrate infectious disease screening into these frontline sources of community healthcare.
Read the full publication below.
