Monitoring hepatitis C treatment in Australia

Issue #14 July 2024

This newsletter reports national hepatitis C (HCV) treatment and retreatment trends in Australia during 2016 to 2023. This newsletter describes trends in HCV treatment, retreatment for reinfection and treatment failure, the population receiving treatment and the clinicians prescribing treatment along with trends for the states and territories of Australia. PBS data of DAAs dispensed in Australia between March 2016 and December 2023 were used to prepare this report. Detailed methodology can be found in the methods and references section.

Executive summary

A total of 105,947 individuals have initiated direct acting antiviral (DAA; Box 1) therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Australia through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme during 2016 to 2023. The number of new treatment initiations decreased between 2016 to 2022. An increase in treatment initiations was observed in 2023.The proportion of people who did not complete a full course of treatment has increased, over time, most notably among women.

Retreatment has accounted for an increasing proportion of all DAA prescriptions over time. By end 2023, 10567 (10%) of the treated population had been retreated at least once. The total number of retreatments prescribed during this period was 13465. Over the past five years retreatment for reinfection has increased, while retreatment for treatment failure has stabilised.

HCV prescriber patterns and the population treated have changed over time. Between 2016 to 2023, the median age of those treated declined from 52 to 44 years. During 2016 to 2023 the proportion of people treated by gastroenterologists declined (50% to 19%), whereas the proportion of people treated by general practitioners increased (31% to 55%). During 2019 to 2023, prescribing of treatment, and notably retreatment, by nurse practitioners increased. By 2023, 11% of treatment and 19% of retreatment was prescribed by nurse practitioners.

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