Hepatitis C treatment in primary care in regional australia

What is it about?

We developed an outreach model of fibrosis assessment in multiple regional areas throughout the Sunshine Coast and Wide Bay areas of Queensland. Patients underwent assessments in locations close to their homes and after assessment, a treatment recommendation was made and communicated to the patients GP. All treatment and follow up occurred in primary care unless the patient was found to have severe liver disease. We were able to show that cure rates achieved in patients treated solely within the primary care setting were is excess of 95% and as good as those treated in secondary (hospital-based) care.

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Why is it important?

Elimination of HCV is dependent on increasing access to treatment especially for those who find it difficult to engage in hospital-based care. Restricting HCV treatment to secondary care restricts the treatment workforce and is a barrier to care. We were able to show that our outreach model was successful in engaging GPs in HCV treatment leading to excellent cure rates.