987. Improving Patient Access to HIV Post-Exposure Prophylaxis with Pharmacist Involvement

Abstract

BackgroundAppropriate use of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) after isolated sexual, injection drug use, or other exposures to HIV is an effective tool to reduce the risk of HIV acquisition. PEP completion rates are low, with literature reporting only 40% of sexual assaulted persons adhering to a full 28-day course. One important barrier to adherence can be access to medications in a timely manner. In the United States, a four week course of PEP costs nearly $4,000 without insurance and can remain unaffordable with high copays and deductibles for patients who are underinsured.MethodsA pharmacist in the Infectious Disease (ID) clinic was notified of all non-occupational post-exposure prophylaxis (nPEP) cases referred from the Emergency Department for follow up and coordinated benefits investigation, ensured low or no cost medication access, completed medication reconciliation, counseled on PEP adherence, and coordinated filling of same day prescriptions at the hospital based pharmacy. To assess the impact of pharmacist involvement, a retrospective review of nPEP cases over a 6 month period were compared to a 6 month period prior to pharmacist presence in clinic.Results16 nPEP cases were seen by a pharmacist compared to 8 nPEP cases seen in the ID clinic without pharmacist involvement. 100% of patients received medications prior to leaving the medical center, compared to 63% of cases filling at the hospital pharmacy prior to pharmacist presence. 25% of patients required an insurance related override in order to access PEP urgently. The average out of pocket cost was $2.25 with maximum total cost being $7.30. Prior to pharmacist involvement, the average out of pocket cost was $475 for complete PEP regimen with a maximum total cost of $3,733.40. 42% of patients completed their entire PEP course and came to follow up appointment after pharmacist involvement, compared to 31% of patients prior to pharmacist presence.ConclusionPharmacist involvement led to a substantial cost savings to patients receiving nPEP. It was also associated with higher capture rates of prescriptions filled at the hospital pharmacy along with a higher rate of PEP completion and follow up.Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures