Bay PHO's encourage referral to pilot
Tuesday August 5, 2014
In a bid to tackle the increasing burden of liver disease associated with hepatitis C in New Zealand, The Hepatitis Foundation of New Zealand, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, DHBs and PHOs, are running the Hepatitis C Pilot. The pilot continues in Bay of Plenty DHB and other pilot regions, with the following results:
- 997 patients have been referred onto the pilot programme.
- 768 free community FibroScan assessments have been completed.
- 113 people have been found with severe fibrosis or cirrhosis (after a community FibroScan assessment) and have been referred to hospital.
- 150 patients are estimated to have chronic hepatitis C in a General Practice of 10,000.
- 79% of Bay of Plenty DHB GP Practices have referred one or more patients onto the programme.
Eastern Bay of Plenty PHA & Western Bay of Plenty PHO, in partnership with the Foundation, encourages all General Practice Teams to:
- Actively test patients with risk factors.
- Refer chronic hepatitis C patients (HCV PCR/RNA positive) onto the pilot programme for early specialist assessment and triage in the community.
For more information contact Jenny Patchell (Customer Relationship Manager, The Hepatitis Foundation of New Zealand) on 021 921 694 or visit www.hepatitisfoundation.org.nz. Referrals can be made via Medtech Outbox document, email (hepteam@hepatitisfoundation.org.nz), fax 07 5712548 or send to PO Box 15 347, Tauranga 3144.
