About the program

The Beyond the C program is part of a national program called ‘National Hepatitis C 50,000 Project’.

Beyond the C is led by ASHM (formerly the Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine). ‘National Hepatitis C 50,000 Project’ is a national initiative between primary care, community-based organisations, and researchers with the aim of finding 50,000 people living with hepatitis C who have not accessed treatment, support and care. General Practices play a critical role in this program. We know that there are many Australians living with hepatitis C who have been tested in the past but have not proceeded to treatment, have disengaged from care, or have been lost to follow up. The Beyond the C program follows on from the success of the Pilot Program which ran in 2021. Read: Watch the recording of the Beyond the C Program launch on 7 December with special guests Dr Jacqui Richmond (EC Australia), Carrie Fowlie (Hepatitis Australia), Brett Stevens (ASHM) and Joe Staniszewski & Daniel Hunt (Derbarl Yerrigan Health Services)

Steps in the journey

As part of the program you will conduct case finding and a clinical audit using your medical software to help you identify people for hepatitis C testing and treatment. You will follow quality improvement processes to connect these people with ongoing care.

These are four stages along the way.

Your role in the program

Beyond the C program has been designed to be semi-self directed. Guiding you and your team through the various steps to data searching and Quality Improvement activities to increase hepatitis C knowledge and confidence in these processes.

Beyond the C takes on a whole-of-practice approach, identifying potential roles and suggested activities. Team members within your practice may take on one or more of these roles:

Champion

• Determining the learning needs of each project team member
• Project reporting and data submission
• Ensuring all key deliverables are met according to the project timeline

Data searcher

• Use data analysis tools and clinical software to search for patients using specific search criteria
• Apply filters to customise database searching
• Develop an audit list and register of patients with hepatitis C or at risk of hepatitis C

Clinical auditor

• Use the audit tool in conjunction with clinical software to complete a manual audit of each patient record
• Use clinical coding to update patient records as cases are confirmed
• Use a recall system to manage patient follow up including setup, adding recalls, generating recalls messages and managing patient responses.
• Update the audit record with outcomes of patient follow up

Clinician

• Requesting tests as relevant for each patient
• Determining and monitoring treatment regimes
• Updating patient clinical record

Support for the journey

Each role in the project needs different training and support. Throughout the project, you will have access to:

• A comprehensive package of support that provides guidance for each step, including checklists and tools

• Online learning modules on hepatitis C including case-finding, testing, treatment and support

• Practice resources that you and your practice staff can use to support people accessing care.

Your practice will also have personalised support via phone/video calls and email from our Practice Nurse Advisor, as well as access to local health services.

Time commitment

The project is designed to be completed within a 6 month cycle.

The time commitment for your practice may vary with your practice’s data management, and experience with quality improvement projects. You can complete the project earlier if all learning and reporting commitments are completed.

Reporting

The reporting requirements are straightforward, and you will be provided with simple reporting templates. You will need to complete the following reporting steps:

Evaluation:

Completion of pre- and post-program evaluation surveys.

Case Finding:

Submission of deidentified data, including the number of people:

Identified by the search
Tested for hepatitis C
Treated for hepatitis C

Quality Improvement:

Completion of a quality improvement cycle:

Improvement goals
Improvement ideas
Improvement measures

A rewarding experience

Beyond the C offers your practice an opportunity to develop processes and skills in case-finding, clinical auditing and quality improvement – all with the personalised support of an expert, along with access to high-quality training and resources. The skills and processes you learn here will be invaluable in improving your quality of care in other areas of patient care.

The program helps you to align with the Quality Improvement Practice Incentive Program. Participating practices in the Beyond the C program receive an incentive payment of $4,000 when you complete the project milestones.

By connecting with people living with hepatitis C, you have an opportunity to prevent significant long-term health issues and improve their overall health and quality of life – and help us move towards the goal of eliminating hepatitis C as a major health concern.