National survey finds providers’ perspectives lag behind PrEP guidelines

People who are at substantial ongoing risk for HIV have a prevention option in addition to practicing safer sex: It’s pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Proactively taking a regimen of an HIV antiviral medication helps prevent HIV from establishing itself and multiplying in the body. In May 2014, the U.S. Public Health Service released detailed PrEP guidelines.

But for patients and providers, PrEP may still be too well-kept a secret. Group Health researchers found that many U.S. health care providers are reluctant to prescribe PrEP to some of their patients. The quarterly HIV Specialist magazine of the American Academy of HIV Medicine published these results from the first survey to be conducted since the release of the guidelines: “Providers’ Perspectives on Prescribing Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV Prevention.”

Health care providers need ongoing education and guidance about how to deal with practical issues associated with prescribing PrEP, the researchers concluded.

Read the news release: Providers have mixed feelings about prescribing HIV prevention.