Christchurch Hepatitis C resource Centre post quake
Quake destroyed premises, but Centre rises again thanks to dedicated staff like Fleur who now operates Christchurch Hepatitis C resource centre out or her home until they find temporary premises
Fleur here (Office Admin/Education Coordinator) We have only just set up the
work computer here at my home until we find temporary premises.
So emails will now get through. Our work phone number has been diverted to
my home number also -so from 9-4pm there will be someone to answer the call.
The (0800 224 372) helpline number is being answered by Otago Hepatitis
Resource Centre until we get our premises sorted.
Contact details for
Hepatitis C Resource Centre Christchurch
Phone 03 366 3608, Fax 03 366 0649
0800 224372 (0800 22 HEPC)
hcv@xtra.co.nz
New Fibro scan machine for Christchurch
Some good news for Christchurch, with a new fibro scan machine being installed in the city. These machines remove the need for a liver biopsy. Scanning the liver with sound waves.
They are very cost effective at around $200 for a fibro scan versus the more expensive approx $1200 for a liver biopsy, we hope more DHB’s will invest in fibro scan machines
Liver biopsy has been a significant deterrent to undergoing treatment for Hepatitis C the introduction of fibro scan machines is a great step forward for patients
At present there are machines in Auckland Waikato and now Christchurch.
Contract to develop services for Improvements in Hepatitis C Services
Hepatitis Foundation Recently awarded a national Ministry of Health contract to develop services for Improvements in Hepatitis C Services. I recent meeting with them left me feeling positive about the future of Hepatitis C in New Zealand and we will watch with interest the progress on developing improved services for those living with Hepatitis C.
Hepatitis Foundation mission statement
To promote positive health outcomes to the people of New Zealand through education and research into viral hepatitis, and early detection and long-term follow-up of chronic hepatitis B and C.
The aims of the new Hepatitis C project
Establishing the current status of Hepatitis C (HCV) service delivery and will include assessing the differing status, issues, service delivery models and needs for individuals with HCV within DHBs and regions. The findings will contribute to strategies and / or recommendations for the implementation of key interventions.
Shared Care Tool. Shared care between primary care and specialist services for these groups of patients will manage and, if possible, avert any downstream complications.
Fibro scanning. Equitable access to fibro scanning technology will allow all patients with HCV to have access to this technology in order to assess the stage of liver damage. Assessment of liver damage is usually required before patient treatment plans are commenced.
The development of education / information resources for specific sub-population ‘risk’ groups. These resources will support better detection and treatment of infected individuals from these groups.
Research and provide an implementation plan for a potential three-year programme to promote the targeted testing of specific ‘at risk’ groups to improve early HCV diagnosis rates and treatment options for these individuals. Development of a plan for targeted testing will enable implementation of more effective detection and treatment of at-risk groups.
Undertake research and development of innovative HCV service delivery model(s) for New Zealand. Time-limited pilot projects with appropriate evaluation will improve future access to and quality of HCV treatment services.
An assessment of the current status of HCV Service delivery in New Zealand. Establishing the current status of Hepatitis C (HCV) service delivery will act as a primary tool for the accurate assessment and design of new interventions, and will include: assessing the differing status, issues, service delivery models and needs for individuals with HCV within DHBs and regions. The findings will contribute to strategies and / or recommendations for the implementation of key interventions.
Hepatitis Foundation Hepatitis C Project Team
Kelly Barclay (Hepatitis C Project Manager)
Phone: 021 636 931
Email: kelly@hepfoundation.org.nz
Helen Payne (Hepatitis C project coordinator)
Phone: 021 621 416
Email: helen@hepfoundation.org.nz
The Ministry has launched an e-learning tool for Hepatitis C for general practitioners and nurses.
http://learnonline.health.nz/course/view.php?id=41
Some general information for Hepatitis C patients
Auckland resource Centre
Auckland resource Centre has undergone another regime change and emerged stronger check out their latest publication full of informative goodness about Hepatitis C here, One of the best newsletter to come out of NZ that I have seen look forward to more for the new team who you can read all about inside.
Auckland Hepatits C Liverlinks magazine
New hepatitis C inhibitor drugs to market in Europe and USA
Perhaps the biggest new this month is the progress of the new hepatitis C inhibitor drugs to market in Europe and USA.
An FDA advisory panel will review both Merck’s boceprevir and Vertex’s telaprevir on successive days next month. (April 2011) I expect both will get positive recommendations from the committees considering the unmet need, high efficacy — cure rates in the 70% range — and reasonable safety record.
The drugs haven’t been tested head-to-head against each other, but based on their individual trials, Vertex and marketing partner Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ ) seem to have the upper hand.
While both drugs work better than current treatments and are even able to cure patients that failed previous treatments, they still require PegIntron or Pegasys to be taken alongside the oral medications. The treatment time can be shortened from 48 weeks down to 24 weeks, but that still means patients are injecting themselves and dealing with nasty side effects for six months.
http://www.fool.com/investing/high-grow … at-up.aspx
Expensive new hepatitis c Drugs
They are going to be expensive but bring a dramatic improvement in treatment outcomes.
New hepatitis C drugs from Merck & Co. and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) are being sold in France for 22,000 euros ($31,271) and more, a precedent some doctors say may limit access after the medicines are approved throughout Europe.
J&J and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX)’s telaprevir costs 22,000 euros under a French program for seriously ill patients for whom there is no other effective treatment on the market, according to patient association SOS Hepatites. Merck & Co. said its boceprevir costs 30,000 euros under the same program.
The price may drop once the drugs are approved for the broader market, Merck and J&J executives said. Still, the French model shows the new drugs may triple the cost of hepatitis C treatment, leaving England, Russia and eastern Europe likely to delay use or restrict which patients are allowed access, said Antonio Craxi, director of gastroenterology and internal medicine at the University of Palermo.
“It may be that we can’t use it at all until the price comes down,” Mark Thursz, professor of hepatology at Imperial College London, said in an interview at a conference in Berlin over the weekend. “It’s not the best economic environment to launch an expensive new drug.”
The U.K.’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence may restrict the new drugs to patients who have tried existing treatments without success, Thursz said. The agency may also require genetic tests to determine whether patients are likely to respond to the medicines, he said at the meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver.
Best of Health
www.hcv.org.nz