As part of the National Hepatitis C Point-of-Care Program, operators from across Australia are trained up in the use of point-of-care hepatitis C testing. The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the perspectives of operators in implementing point-of-care testing in their respective clinics/services to better optimise its use and uptake.

This qualitative study interviewed 31 operators from across Australia who are in the National Hepatitis C Point-of-Care Testing Program. Study findings indicated that while overall, operators found point-of-care testing useful and of value, remaining implementation challenges (e.g., administration burden, lack of human resources) hindered its long-term sustainability. Operators also spoke to different enablers/challenges depending on the setting (e.g., outreach versus in-clinic).