(BOSTON – 06/30/2022) The Massachusetts State Senate on Thursday passed legislation which would increase access to the life-saving HIV prevention medication pre-exposure prophylaxis, commonly known as PrEP, by allowing pharmacists to prescribe it to patients on a short-term basis. This important bill, which was passed on the last day of Pride Month, will support the Commonwealth’s efforts to prevent the transmission of HIV, which continues to disproportionately affect members of the LGBTQIA+ community, people of color, and low-income individuals.
“Since it was first developed, PrEP has been a paradigm shift when it comes to HIV prevention – reducing the risk of transmission by 99%,” Senator Michael Moore (D-Millbury) said. “This bill will allow our healthcare system to reach so many more people, especially members of the LGBTQ+ community, communities of color, and low-income communities, which have long been disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. I’m proud of the Senate’s efforts to further prevent the spread of HIV, and I applaud Senator Cyr for leading on this important issue.”
According to the CDC, PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex or injection drug use by about 99 percent when taken as prescribed and does not have serious side effects. Despite the availability of this highly effective HIV prevention medication, the CDC reports that only around 25 per cent of the individuals who are recommended to take PrEP currently do so.
Currently, Massachusetts residents must receive a doctor’s prescription to obtain PrEP. By allowing PrEP to be prescribed by a pharmacist, individuals who are at heightened risk of HIV transmission will be able to more easily and more quickly obtain this life-saving medication. Under the bill, pharmacists would be allowed to dispense up to 60-day supplies of PrEP to individual patients. The bill requires that pharmacists who prescribe PrEP work with the patient’s primary care provider to ensure that the patient receives ongoing support.
This bill aligns Massachusetts with nine other states that have already empowered pharmacists to prescribe PrEP. Peer-reviewed academic studies have recommended the adoption of this policy, and in Massachusetts this proposal has been championed by providers that serve the LGBTQIA+ population.
While new HIV cases have declined considerably in Massachusetts, there continue to be hundreds of new cases each year. According to statistics collected by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), in 2019 a total of 591 Massachusetts residents were diagnosed with a new HIV infection. As of that year, DPH reported that a total of 23,291 Massachusetts residents were living with HIV.
Having passed the Senate, the bill now goes to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
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