Cancer Council Victoria
Linking patients living with hepatitis B to monitoring and treatment is fundamental to preventing liver cancer and improving outcomes. According to the Viral Hepatitis Mapping Project: National Report 2020, more than three quarters of people diagnosed with hepatitis B in Australia are not in care (either treatment or monitoring).
As part of helping health workers have a conversation with their patients on the importance of regular monitoring and treatment to prevent liver cancer, Cancer Council Victoria was recently funded by the Victorian Department of Health to develop a flipchart resource. This flipchart contains patient-facing pages with an image and some plain English information, and health worker pages which gives the doctor, nurse or allied health worker more information to verbally discuss with their patient.
St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, in collaboration with Cancer Council Victoria, has also recently developed a guided learning resource “Me, My Baby and Hepatitis B” that will support antenatal care providers to discuss hepatitis B testing, vaccination, prevention of mother-to-child transmission, management and liver cancer prevention. It also includes a Clinician’s Quick Guide on Hepatitis B testing and management in pregnancy and beyond.
For more information on both resources, please contact charissa.feng@cancervic.org.au
ASHM
ASHM have launched their Hepatitis B Referral and Clinical Support Resources, which can be viewed here.
These been developed for clinicians, especially those who do not routinely work in the hepatitis B space, at the point of hepatitis B diagnosis and initial engagement in care, supporting community-based referrals. They are a suite of complementary resources to guide a clinician through what needs to happen from their first point of contact with someone or diagnosis of hepatitis B, how to decide where their care is best placed, how to talk to them about this and do the referral.
The resources include:
Victorian Integrated Hepatitis C Services: Nurse-led models of care
The Integrated Hepatitis C Services deliver a range of services that align with The Victorian hepatitis C plan 2022–2030 to:
Services include:
Guiding Principles for Victorian Integrated Hepatitis C Services
There is no one model of hepatitis C integrated care. The Integrated Hepatitis C Services work in a diverse range of health care settings, institutions, and contexts. These principles were identified in partnership and collaboration with the Integrated Hepatitis C nurses and seek to provide a shared approach to nurse-led models of hepatitis C care.
Download the Guiding Principles (.pdf) to learn more about how the nurses approach hepatitis C testing, treatment, care and working in partnerships.
Referral form
Referring patients to one of the Integrated Hepatitis C Services is easy. Do not hesitate to make contact and refer directly to a nurse from the contact list below. To assist, a referral form can be downloaded here (.pdf).
Integrated Hepatitis C nurse contact list
Contact one of the integrated nurses to discuss how your service/organisation can work in partnership, or refer people for treatment. Click here for a list of contacts (.pdf).
Hepatitis C data summaries by Primary Health Network
The Hepatitis C data summaries for Victorian Primary Health Networks (.pdf) are an excellent resource to understand the needs of your local area and its demographics. They detail national treatment uptake, notification and geographic data, prevalence, treatment uptake and newly diagnosed cases for each Victorian PHN.
Communities of Practice
VHHITAL provides administrative support for the Integrated Hepatitis C nurses to meet quarterly to network, undertake joint projects to build system linkages to care in community settings and establish partnerships to deliver hepatitis C services. The focus is on nurse-led models of care. This by invitation only network is known as the Integrated Hepatitis C nurses Community of Practice. Expressions of interest in joining the group can be sent to vhhital@nwmphn.org.au, and will be taken to the group for discussion.
Further information
Contact VHHITAL for more information, or your local/closest Integrated Hepatitis C nurse directly.
Resources developed by the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS).
If you would like a copy of any of these resources sent to you, please contact Dr Adrian Farrugia at a.farrugia@latrobe.edu.au
Resources from the CHECCS program delivered by Doherty Institute and the Victorian Department of Health
For more information on CHECCS and this resource, please email whoccvh@mh.org.au. Follow up for Viral Hepatitis notifications has now been integrated into the work of Victoria’s Local Public Health Units.
HealthPathways and care pathways are developed by primary health networks across Australia for their region. HealthPathways and care pathways provide up-to-date best practice guidelines, advice and links to help guide clinicians with diagnosis, treatment, management and referral at the point of care. They include a range of pathways for STIs, BBVs and sexual health.
Visit the VTPHNA care pathways and referral page here.
Communities of Practice (CoP) provide opportunities for learning, networking and collaboration for all primary health care practitioners. See the BBV/STI calendar for dates.
The STI CoP is facilitated by Melbourne Sexual Health Centre and affiliated general practices.
Upcoming sessions:
7 September 2023
6pm – 8pm
Register here: https://bit.ly/3jx9Nk6
To find out more or if you are unable to attend on this date, click here or contact the VHHITAL team at vhhital@nwmphn.org.au
A free online learning portal containing an extensive library of self-paced courses from ASHM.