Hepatitis C s100 Prescribing Pilot for GPs
This pilot is being conducted by ASHM, funded by NSW and ACT Departments of Health and approved by the Highly Specialised Drugs Working Party.
The Hepatitis C Community Prescribing Pilot officially began on 1 May 2004 and will continue until May 2007. Under this arrangement, the treatment for hepatitis C is the same as that provided through liver clinics, but much of the management is provided by an accredited community prescriber.
Eighty-two (82) community prescribers were accredited throughout NSW/ACT following training and assessment and providing they nominated a link to a publicly funded hepatitis C treatment centre authorised by NSW Health. Accredited prescribers have full access to services provided by these liver clinics for their patients.
The community prescriber is responsible for screening of patients and all necessary work-up prior to specialist referral. Community prescribers are acting as agents of the public health system and are authorised to order diagnostic tests.
Under the terms of the pilot, only the specialist can initiate treatment but the community prescriber may write second and subsequent scripts for HCV antiviral therapy. Under the pilot, dispensing of highly specialised drugs must also be from hospital pharmacies.
Ongoing support is available through ASHM to facilitate links between community prescribers and specialist clinics. Specific resources have been developed such as treatment algorithms tailored for each clinic (see Related Links). If managed under the pilot, patients visit the specialist/clinic at treatment weeks 0, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 6 months post-therapy or as otherwise indicated.
Community prescribing can be of great help to the patient in reducing the need to attend the liver clinic, especially in rural areas. One hundred and sixty-six (166) patients have been referred under the pilot to date.
Related links
- HCV Treatment Algorithm -
generic-HCV-treatment-algorithm.pdf [356kb]
More information
Education and Training Division
tel: +61 2 8204 0720
email: education@ashm.org.au
