Methodology

This consensus statement presents a synthesis of evidence from the published literature and scientific abstract presentations available at the time of writing, relevant to the Australian PBS listing for HCV medications at the time of writing.

Levels of evidence for recommendations have been graded according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system.[150]

The quality of the evidence in the recommendations has been classified into one of three levels: high (A), moderate (B) or low (C).

The GRADE system offers two grades of recommendation: strong (1) or weak (2).

Evidence quality	Notes	Grade
High	Further research is very unlikely to change our confidence in the estimate of effect.	A
Moderate	Further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and may change the estimate.	B
Low	Further research is very likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate and is likely to change the estimate. Any change of estimate is uncertain.	C
Recommendation	Notes	Grade
Strong	Factors influencing the strength of the recommendation included the quality of the evidence, presumed patient-important outcomes and cost.	1
Weak	Variability in preferences and values, or more uncertainty. Recommendation is made with less certainty, higher cost or higher resource consumption.	2