Bringing the Liver into the Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Framework: Help Finalize National Consensus on Fibrosis Screening

Liver fibrosis screening remains underused in routine care even though society guidance already supports a two-step approach to identifying liver fibrosis, beginning with a simple blood-based score such as FIB-4. As a result, people with high cardiometabolic burden often go undiagnosed. The barriers lie largely in implementation.
 
In 2026, AASLD convened a multidisciplinary expert panel representing hepatology, primary care, endocrinology, cardiology, laboratory medicine, and radiology to develop national consensus on reducing those barriers. The panel's draft consensus statements address three themes: making liver health part of Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic (CKM) care, with routine screening among those with high cardiometabolic burden as the standard of care; building society-endorsed screening algorithms into routine clinical workflows; and automating and standardizing first- and second-line testing.
 
This is an open session for comment. Panel members will briefly present each draft statement and then open the floor for discussion. Input from clinicians, laboratory professionals, health system and quality leaders, and patient advocates will inform the final consensus manuscript.