Rx for Change is a national coalition to advance HIV services in community pharmacies including testing and prevention. The partnership includes Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, AIDS United, the Black Public Health Academy and the National Pharmaceutical Association.
Bringing HIV prevention services into pharmacies will increase access and reduce stigma, associate professor at the Rollins School of Public Health Natalie Crawford said.
“We are planning to bridge access gaps to bring HIV prevention, namely PrEP — or pre-exposure prophylaxis — the drug that prevents HIV to the communities that need it the most,” she said.
Expanding pharmacy-based HIV prevention services could increase PrEP access points by as much as 80-fold in the southeastern U.S. since nearly 90% of Americans live within five miles of a pharmacy, Crawford said.
“This collaborative initiative strengthens the efforts of pharmacy personnel to deliver enhanced HIV prevention services in historically underserved communities of the South,” President of National Pharmaceutical Association Tamara McCants said in a news release.
The launch of Rx for Change coincides with Georgia Senate Bill 195 being signed into law on May 5, which will help expand the role of pharmacists as frontline health care providers.
“Legislative health policies are only meaningful when they translate into improved outcomes for the communities they are designed to serve,” founder of the Black Public Health Academy Leisha McKinley-Beach said in a news release. “Community-based organizations are uniquely positioned to partner with pharmacies as trusted voices in expanding access, strengthening service delivery, and helping lead the way to end new HIV diagnoses.”
By allowing pharmacists to prescribe PrEP, it provides a new pathway for individuals to access HIV prevention services quickly, conveniently, and confidentially.
“You can go for a bag of chips or your allergy medication,” Crawford said. “No one knows what you are going in there to get. This is really going to de-stigmatize HIV prevention services.”
