Hepatitis C currently causes over 200 deaths a year in New Zealand. This is a tragedy because every death could have been prevented by earlier diagnosis and treatment.
Find out more about how you can help contribute to New Zealand’s National Hepatitis C Action Plan to eliminate Hepatitis C by 2030, as well as what can be done to manage liver disease.
Topics the panel will cover include:
- Hepatitis C – overview and equity perspective - Dr Rawiri McKree Jansen
- Eliminating the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) - Professor Ed Gane
- Fatty liver - new referral pathway for fatty liver - Dr Akhilesh Swaminathan
- Abnormal liver function tests - Professor Ed Gane
- Abdominal ultrasound - when to ultrasound and when not to - Dr Barnett Bond
- Primary care prescribing for Hepatitis B - Professor Ed Gane
- Auckland Region HealthPathways clinical editors, Dr Helen Liley and Dr Peter Ou, will also be supporting the programme by briefly outlining relevant pathways.
Presenter
Dr Rawiri McKree Jansen
Rawiri is the Chief Medical Officer at Te Aka Whai Ora (Māori Health Authority). Prior to this, he had a secondment as interim Chief Medical Officer at the Interim Māori Authority. Rawiri was also the Clinical Director at the National Hauora Coalition for many years.
Presenter
Prof Ed Gane
Ed is Professor of Medicine at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, Hepatologist and Deputy Director of the New Zealand Liver Unit at Auckland City Hospital and chairs the oversight committee for the Hepatitis C Elimination Strategy.
Dr. Gane is an investigator for many international clinical trials on viral hepatitis and has published over 500 papers in peer-reviewed journals. In 2011, Dr Gane received the New Zealand Health Research Council (NZHRC) annual Beaven Medal and in 2014, the NZHRC annual Liley Medal. In 2011, Dr. Gane was awarded Member of the Order of New Zealand for Services to Medicine. In 2017, Dr Gane was named as New Zealand Innovator of the Year for his work towards HepC elimination in New Zealand.
Presenter
Dr Akhilesh Swaminathan
Akhilesh is a Gastroenterology Trainee based at the Auckland Liver Unit, with an interest in non-invasive assessment of gastrointestinal disorders. He is currently completing a PhD investigating novel biomarkers and tools for disease assessment in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and inflammatory bowel disease.
Presenter
Dr Barnett Bond
Barnett is a GP by training but also worked in the past for the National Preferred Medicines Centre and currently for the e-referrals Clinical Reference Group and for the Clinical Pathways Clinical Advisory Group.
For the past 20 years, he has been a GP Liaison and clinical director of the Auckland Hospital Radiology Service and Starship Children’s Hospital. He triages referrals to the public hospital radiology service, including most requests from GPs for imaging of the liver.
