Approximately 230,000 Australian are infected with Hepatitis C, with over 10,000 new cases reported in 2015. Complications such as liver cirrhosis and liver cancer are devastating. In 2016, Australia become one of the first countries to offer unrestricted use of highly effective direct-acting antiviral therapy to cure the disease. The efficacy and safety of these new medications has allowed the opportunity for most General Practitioners (GP) to prescribe this therapy, often in consultation with a specialist.

HealthElink is a web-based, secure online platform that connects the GP, specialist, hepatitis nurse and patient together with the goal of treating Hepatitis C. We aim to investigate the efficacy, acceptability and utility of this system in treating Hepatitis C.
We are currently undertaking a multi-centre trial involving tertiary hospitals and referring General Practitioners in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Victoria. Via the online, secure system:
  • GPs can electronically refer to a specialist to review and approve hepatitis C treatment plans
  • Automatic treatment plans generated based on current Australian hepatitis C treatment guidelines, including interpretation of fibrosis markers and assessment of medication interactions
  • Patients are able to login and view their treatment plan, mark tasks as complete and message their viral hepatitis nurse
  • Secure messaging between GPs, specialists and nurses

We are currently looking to recruit more GPs on the system. Please visit Information for GPs for further details.