To increase statewide usage of a highly effective drug that prevents HIV, an Oregon Health & Science University telemedicine program is bringing it directly to Oregonians' homes.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is an antiretroviral medication that reduces the risk of getting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, from sexual intercourse by about 99%. It has been commercially available since 2012, when the Food and Drug Administration approved the first daily prescription pill. In 2021, the FDA approved another PrEP option, an every-other-month injection.
Even though the Affordable Care Act made PrEP free with nearly all health insurance, only about 30% of Americans who were eligible for the preventive treatment in 2021 used it. And less than 24% of eligible Oregonians used PrEP that same year. There are also inequities in its use: Black, Latino and other people of color are less likely to be on PrEP — and more likely to be diagnosed with HIV — than white people.
On World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, OHSU is working to raise awareness about better access to this lifesaving treatment.
"PrEP is extremely good at preventing HIV — when people can use it," said Christopher B. Fox, M.S.N., RN, an assistant professor of medicine (internal medicine and geriatrics) in the OHSU School of Medicine who works at the OHSU HIV Clinic. "However, people who have an increased risk for HIV also often face challenges accessing health care, and some health care providers don't prescribe PrEP because they mistakenly assume a patient doesn't need it.
"Telemedicine — which enables patients to receive health care from the comfort and safety of their own homes — can help overcome these barriers."
