Preventing HIV with Pharmacist-Prescribed PrEP - By Chelsea Boyd - Policies that facilitate pharmacist prescribing have the potential to help more people

Introduction In 2021, an estimated 32,100 Americans were infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).1 The Department of Health and Human Services’ 2019 taskforce “Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States” (EHE) aims to decrease new HIV infections to 9,300 cases by 2025 and 3,000 cases by 2030.2 Although the number of new HIV infections in the United States has been decreasing, significan. [...] Relates to how pharmacists’ scope of practice is defined.22 PrEP-to-Need The ratio of the number of PrEP users in a given year to the number of Ratio (PNR) people newly diagnosed with HIV in a given year. [...] A lower value means there is greater unmet need.23 PrEP Coverage The estimated percentage of people who could benefit from PrEP who have been prescribed PrEP.24 Since the ultimate goal of PrEP is to prevent people from acquiring HIV, it is informative to assess the HIV diagnosis rates in states that have allowed independent PrEP prescribing compared to those that have not. [...] In 2022, the federal government budgeted $28.7 billion for The United States has the tools health care services and treatment for people living with HIV, yet only $1.1 billion went to achieve the EHE goal of reducing HIV infections by 90 percent to HIV prevention.38 A 2022 report estimated that at the population level, the drug and by 2030. [...] For example, in for new forms of PrEP that may be approved 2024, California updated their PrEP prescribing in the future.56 legislation to extend the prescription length from a 60-day supply to a 90-day supply.58 Conclusion Increasing PrEP use has decreased the HIV diagnosis rate in the United States.59 Although PrEP coverage has increased since 2019, and more states are allowing pharmacists to in.