People getting their viral hepatitis medicines from community pharmacies appear to be encountering delays due to "system issues".

Hepatitis Australia has issued a statement saying that they "are liaising with the Health Minister’s office, pharmaceutical companies and the Pharmacy Guild in an attempt to have the identified system problems resolved as soon as possible."

In the meantime, if you encounter difficulties getting your hepatitis C medicines prescriptions filled at your local pharmacy, try the following:

Speak with your pharmacist directly when you bring your prescription in, ask if the pharmacy is willing to order the medicine in for you. Most pharmacies will not stock the drugs and will have to order them in.

If your pharmacy is unable to order the medicines in for you, call the Hepatitis SA Helpline on 1800 437 222 to get names of pharmacies who are ready to do that.

Plan ahead

If you have already started treatment, and are getting your medicine from a community pharmacy, speak to your pharmacist a week before you need to fill your repeat prescription. Due to delivery schedules, some pharmacists may need up to five days from the time you present your script to the time the drug arrives. To get the best possible outcomes from your treatment, it is important that there be no break i.e. days when you are not taking the DAAs.