• Skip to main content
  • Skip to navigation
  • Accessibility
  • Contact Us
Government of Western Australia Crest
Government of Western Australia
Government of Western Australia Crest

Additional Menu

  • Accessibility
  • Contact us
Go to WA Government search
  • For patients and visitors
    • Emergencies
    • Aishwarya's CARE Call
    • Coming to Fiona Stanley Hospital
      • Visiting our hospitals
      • Finding your way
      • Maps
      • Facilities
      • Parking and transport
    • Coming to Fremantle Hospital
      • Visiting our hospitals
      • Map of Fremantle Hospital
      • Facilities
      • Parking and transport
    • Coming to Cockburn Health
      • Visiting our hospitals
      • Maps of Cockburn Health
      • Parking and transport at Cockburn Health
    • Visiting our hospitals
    • Being a patient
      • Understanding your surgical journey
      • Your hospital admission
      • Understanding where you will receive care
      • During your hospital stay
      • Ordering patient meals
      • Elective surgery
      • Outpatients
      • Private patients
      • Treatment costs for overseas visitors and students
      • Going home from hospital
    • Support during your stay
      • Pastoral care
      • Peer support workers
      • Supporting Aboriginal patients and families
      • Supporting people with disability
    • Keeping you safe
      • Reduce your risk of falls – Be SAFER
      • Preventing pressure injuries
      • About good hand hygiene
      • Preventing healthcare associated infections
    • Managing your health care
      • Patient rights
      • Goals of patient care
      • Talk about 'What matters to you?'
      • MySay healthcare survey
    • For families and carers
      • Pastoral care
      • Supporting carers
      • Supporting Aboriginal patients and families
      • Supporting patients with cognitive impairment
      • Understanding delirium
      • If you can't visit an older patient
      • The intensive care journey
      • After the loss of a loved one
    • Freedom of information
    • Feedback compliments and complaints
  • For health professionals
    • Information for GPs
      • SMHS GP Engage
      • GP Engage
    • Refer a patient
      • Service specific referrals
    • Library and Information Service
  • Our services
  • Our community
    • Volunteer with us
    • Consumer Advisory Council
    • 'Put it to the People' engagement platform
    • ED Consumer Advisory Group
    • Mental Health Consumer Advisory Group (Fremantle Hospital)
  • Our research
  • Work with us
    • Career opportunities
      • Allied Health
      • Corporate non-clinical
      • Graduates
      • Medical
      • Mental health
      • Nursing and midwifery careers
    • Fellowships
      • Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine
      • Medical Imaging Fellowships
    • Living in WA
  • News
  • About us
    • About FSFHG
    • About South Metropolitan Health Service
    • Feedback, compliments, concerns and complaints
    • Conduct and standards
    • Contact us
    • Executive
    • Our vision and values
    • Our history
    • Our Aboriginal heritage
  1. Home
  2. For health professionals
  3. Refer a patient
  4. Service specific referrals
  5. Hepatitis C remote consultation or specialist appointment referral

Hepatitis C remote consultation or specialist appointment referral

Hepatitis C remote consultation or specialist appointment referral

Since March 2016 the general listing of hepatitis C treatments was allowed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

General practitioners (GPs) experienced in the treatment of hepatitis C are encouraged to prescribe the relevant treatment or if preferred GPs can seek approval by a gastroenterologist, hepatologist or infectious diseases specialist before prescribing.

The Remote Consultation Initiation of Hepatitis C Treatment enables GPs to prescribe hepatitis C treatment following approval by a Fiona Stanley Hospital specialist (gastroenterologist/hepatologist). Read about our gastroenterology service.

Request remote consultation

GPs can request this service by completing the work-up (external PDF 553KB) posting or faxing a Hepatitis C remote consultation request form (PDF 276KB) or (Word 753KB) to the Central Referral Service (external site).

  • Fax: 1300 365 056
  • Postal address: GPO Box 2566, St Georges Terrace, WA 6831

The work-up includes information regarding the patient's hepatitis C genotype and viral load and a serum marker of liver fibrosis either APRI or Hepascore, which is all available from PathWest.

If the work-up results indicate more complex hepatitis C, the patient will be accepted to the waitlist for an appointment with a specialist.

Read more information about this community-based management option (external site).

If yu are unable to prescribe this treatment independently or in conjunction with FSH, please consider alternative referral pathways such as referral to a:

  • participating GP
  • private specialist.

Refer for specialist appointment

If the work-up results indicate more complex hepatitis C, as per the criteria below, the patient should be referred for specialist assessment via CRS, using the statewide general adult referral form for specialist outpatient appointment.

Referral criteria for specialist assessment

For Hepatitis C with:

  • Cirrhosis as evidenced by
    • APRI > 1.0 OR
    • Hepascore > 0.8 OR
    • Fibroscan > 12.5 kPa.
  • Co-infection
    • Other hepatitis
    • HIV with advance liver disease (Note: in the absence of advanced liver disease, HIV-HCV co-infection should be referred to Infectious Diseases).
  • Significant co-morbidity
    • Complex medication interactions* (see HEP Drug Interactions tool http://www.hep-druginteractions.org/)
    • Significant cardiopulmonary disease or significant renal impairment (eGFR <30).
  • Prior antiviral treatment failure.

For non-complex hepatitis C for specialist appointment ONLY where GP provides evidence of barriers to community-based treatment.

Barriers to community-based treatment include:

  • geographical/transport
  • financial
  • other – please describe

Referral instructions

Refer via CRS using the statewide general adult referral form (external site) for specialist outpatient appointment.

Referrers must attach a work-up and a copy of laboratory results including:

  • date of diagnosis
  • inter-current conditions
  • current medications (prescription, herbal, OTC, recreational)
  • Liver Fibrosis Assessment:
    • Hepascore or APRI or Fibroscan
  • laboratory results:
  • HCV genotype
  • ALT
    • bilirubin
    • creatinine
    • haemoglobin
    • HCV RNA level
    • AST
    • albumin
    • eGFR
    • platelet count
    • INR.

* If referring because of complex medication interactions please specify the detail, if possible attach results of HEP Drug Interactions tool (external site).

Last Updated: 18/06/2024
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

Footer menu

  • wa.gov.au
  • Copyright
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us

Brought to you by the Department of Health, Western Australia

© Government of Western Australia 2018 to