Pharmacist-Led Management of HIV PrEP Within the Veterans Health Administration

BackgroundUptake and access to HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is key to reducing incident HIV infections. Pharmacists are one of the most accessible health care professionals in the United States and are well suited to address this need.ObservationsWe describe a model of care at the Veterans Aff...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Federal practitioner 2023-07, Vol.40 (7), p.218-223
Main Authors: Cameron, Madison A, Kawamoto, Jenna, Shahoumian, Troy A, Belperio, Pamela S
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:BackgroundUptake and access to HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is key to reducing incident HIV infections. Pharmacists are one of the most accessible health care professionals in the United States and are well suited to address this need.ObservationsWe describe a model of care at the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System in which clinical pharmacist practitioners developed and implemented a pharmacy-led PrEP clinic colocated within an infectious disease clinic. Veterans Health Administration clinical pharmacists provide direct patient care under a scope of practice that includes ordering and interpreting laboratory tests and providing PrEP prescriptions. To improve access and patient acceptability, we also used novel telemedicine modes of care to ensure flexible appointment scheduling.ConclusionsThis model can be used by other federal and community-based health care organizations to implement interdisciplinary pharmacist-managed PrEP clinics and expand telehealth modalities to deliver outpatient services.
ISSN:1078-4497
1945-337X
DOI:10.12788/fp.0379