Hepatitis C Virus
Adult

Hepatology

Useful Management Information

Medical management

  • Screening and vaccination for Hepatitis A for patients
  • Screening and vaccination for Hepatitis B of sexual contacts and immediate family members
  • Natural history of disease, transmission risks and precautions
  • Lifelong monitoring of disease for hepatocellular cancer screening with USS and AFP if advanced fibrosis/cirrhosis disclosure and treatment options
  • Assess for substance ongoing substance use and implement harm minimisation strategies
  • Lifestyle modification (increased activity, dietary, weight, smoking, alcohol)
  • Consider cessation of alcohol, hepatotoxic medication, herbal preparations, supplements

Minimum Referral Criteria

Does your patient meet the minimum referral criteria?
Category 1 (appointment within 30 calendar days)
  • Hepatitis C viraemia with ALT >500 or concerning features:
    • Evidence of liver decompensation e.g. jaundice and/or ascites and/or encephalopathy

Category 2 (appointment within 90 calendar days)
  • Hepatitis C viraemia without concerning features
  • Consider alternative referral pathways (local availability) including treatment options in primary care
Category 3 (appointment within 365 calendar days)
  • No category 3 criteria
  • If the patient does not meet the criteria for referral but the referring practitioner believes the patient requires specialist review, a clinical override may be requested:
    • Please explain why (e.g. warning signs or symptoms, clinical modifiers, uncertain about diagnosis, etc.)
  • Please note that your referral may not be accepted or may be redirected to another service.

Essential Referral Information

  • General referral information including details of presenting issues
  • Comorbidities and past medical history
  • Alcohol and medication history (including non-prescription, herbs and supplements)
  • Risk factors for viral hepatitis
  • Height, weight and BMI
  • FIB-4, ELFT, FBC results less than 3 months old
  • HBV, HIV, fasting glucose and lipids results
  • HCV serology
  • Positive HCV RNA qualitative/quantitative and genotype
  • Recent upper abdominal ultrasound or CT reports

If a specific test result cannot be obtained due to access, financial, religious, cultural or consent reasons a clinical override may be requested. This reason must be clearly articulated in the body of the referral.

Additional Referral Information

  • Record of previous liver function tests, liver fibrosis assessment (elastography, direct serum markers),imaging and/or liver biopsy results
Last updated 19 February 2025

Send Referrals To

Smart Referrals

Preferred Method
About Smart Referrals

Secure Web Transfer

Send to: Gold Coast Health Service District

Internal Referrals

Hepatology (E-Blueslips)

Fax

(07) 5687 4497

Post

Booking and Referral Centre
Gold Coast University Hospital
1 Hospital Boulevard
Southport QLD 4215

Enquiries

1300 559 083

Related HealthPathways

No directly related pathways found

Service Availability

Dr Russell Canavan
Medical Director Hepatology, and Gastroenterology

Facilities

Gold Coast University Hospital

If you would like to send a named referral, please address it to the specialist listed above, who will allocate a suitably qualified specialist to see the patient. Alternatively, you can view a full list of our specialists.

Gold Coast Health - For Clinicians
© The State of Queensland 1995-2021 | Queensland Government
Queensland Government acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land and pays respect to Elders past, present and future.