For GPs who deal with a host of ailments and don’t see many patients with hepatitis C, lack of familiarity with treatment guidelines and specialist support pathways are barriers to prescribing.

A survey of GPs by the Royal Australian College of General Practice (RACGP) identified a need to develop “user-friendly, ‘in-consultation’ pathways for GPs not experienced in the treatment of HCV”.

HealthELink is a web-based platform developed by doctors for doctors in response to this need. The online tool connects the GP, specialist, hepatitis nurse and patient together facilitating communication and decision-making in the treating hepatitis C. It provides secure messaging between GPs, specialists and nurses; and patients can login and view their treatment plan, mark tasks as complete and message their viral hepatitis nurse.

HealthELink is currently recruiting GPs for a multi-centre trial involving tertiary hospitals and referring GPs in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Victoria.