Seattle pharmacy shares preliminary One-Step PrEP pilot results
SEATTLE — Kelley-Ross Pharmacy Group, ahead of World AIDS day on Dec. 1, shared some preliminary findings from its pilot HIV prevention program, One-Step PrEP. The program, launched in March, aims to make it easier for patients to get a prescription for pre-exposure prophylaxis, a daily pill sold as Truvada (ASDFSDA), that can prevent a patient from contracting HIV at a 92% success rate.
The findings, which will be presented to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Dec. 8, show that all of the paitents the company tracked who were taking PrEP remain HIV-negatice, and that monthly check-ins and refills helped improve adherence to the regmen.
“In the fight against HIV, prevention is key,” Elyse Tung-Wisner, the clinical pharmacist at Kelley-Ross behind the program and the key presenter of the findings with the CDC, said. “If we can improve access to PrEP we can change lives, and limit the number of new infections. When we do that in combination with others who are leading research, we will eventually end HIV.”
The One-Step PrEP program lets patients consult with a pharmacist in a 45-minute visit, during which the pharmacist assesses their eligibility while their lab results are processed and payment methods are researched. If the patient qualifies — as 97% of the 129 patients seen in-clinic did — they can leave the pharmacy with information and their pills.
The pilot’s findings come on the heels of the CDC recent call for increased awareneess of PrEP given that 1-in-3 primary care physicians and nurse practitioners do not know what PrEP is despite the promise it has shown to prevent HIV among high-risk groups — one-in-four men who have sex with men, one-in-five people who inject drugs and one-in-200 heterosexuals.
“We believe in meeting the needs of our community where they are,” Kelley-Ross principal and CEO Ryan Oftebro said. “We are thrilled with the success of our One-Step-PrEP program and believe it can help in the battle to eradicate HIV.”