Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) were listed on the PBS S85 (General Schedule) from 1.3.2016. To prescribe these DAAs, medical practitioners who are not experienced in hepatitis C treatment are required to consult with a specialist prior to initiation of therapy.

The consultation process can be via phone, fax or email. ASHM is collaborating with the Kirby Institute on a national prospective multi-centre observational cohort study titled REACH-C which aims to evaluate uptake and real world outcomes of direct anti-viral therapy for HCV in Australia. Read here to find out more about the study.

As part of the REACH-C study, ASHM and the Kirby Institute have developed an online form that medical practitioners can complete to gain specialist approval to initiate DAA therapy.

The online form has required demographic and clinical fields for completion and is located on the website here. Specialists highly experienced in hepatitis C treatment will review the data entered and either approve the treatment choice or may request that further information be provided. The anticipated turn-around time for specialist approval sought via the REACH-C online form is 24 hours.
To protect patient privacy, only the patient initials will need to be entered in the online form along with relevant data needed to determine the treatment choice and duration of therapy.

Full prescriber details are required so that specialist approval can be advised and/or further contact made.
Once the required data is entered into the online form, it will automatically be sent to specialists who will review the data and provide the approval to initiate therapy or request further information.

Please note, by completing the online form, the medical practitioner is giving approval for the de-identified data entered to be collected for the REACH-C Study. The REACH-C study has been approved by St Vincent’s Hospital Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC/16/SVH/223).

Specialist Approval will be provided by:

Prof Greg Dore (MBBS, BSc, MPH, PhD) is an infectious diseases physician and clinical academic at St Vincent’s Hospital. He is Head of the Viral Hepatitis Clinical Research Program at the Kirby Institute, UNSW.

A/Prof Gail Matthews (MBChB, MRCP (UK), FRACP, PhD) is an infectious diseases physician and clinical academic at St Vincent’s Hospital. She is Associate Professor of the Viral Hepatitis Clinical Research Program at the Kirby Institute, UNSW.

If you would like any more information about the online form and specialist approval process, please contact [email protected].

For more information about the REACH-C study, please email Joanne Carson at [email protected]

Don’t forget to bookmark the REACH-C FORM tab at the top of your screen before you leave this site, so that you can come back to the form at any time