Jennifer MacLachlan: How good data saves lives

Jennifer MacLachlan is an epidemiologist at the Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity where she collects and analyses data concerning viral hepatitis in Australia. Her team has done ground-breaking work in the National Mapping Projects for hepatitis B and C, attracting widespread attention and giving health advocates important evidence to help fight viral hepatitis. In this short podcast, Jennifer discusses what ‘bigger picture’ data reveals about on-the-ground changes, and what Australia urgently needs to do to have a realistic chance of achieving the 2030 elimination targets. "We are making gradual progress, but it is not as rapid as it needs to be," she says. "Treatment uptake for hepatitis B is only increasing 1% per year but we need it to double to reach the National Strategy target. "We need to change every element of the healthcare system in Australia to eliminate hepatitis..." Jennifer says.