Community pharmacy delivered PrEP to STOP HIV transmission: An opportunity NOT to miss!

In the United States, 1.1 million persons are living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and approximately 37,800 new infections occur annually. Ending the HIV epidemic requires reducing HIV transmissions by 90% within the next 10 years and requires expanded HIV testing, antivirals for persons infected with HIV, and scale-up of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) to prevent new infections. Community pharmacies are widely accessible and employ highly trained health care professionals on-site who can initiate PrEP and PEP. Recommendations are offered to implement a community pharmacy PrEP program. Pharmacy, government, and HIV prevention leaders must be prepared to support and promote transformative changes, including (1) modification or expansion of existing state-specific scope of practice to initiate PrEP and PEP, (2) encouraging pharmacist education about PrEP and PEP, (3) identification and screening of candidates for PrEP eligibility, (4) incorporating pharmacy laboratory ordering and monitoring logistics, (5) adjusting workflow and ensuring confidential spaces for sensitive discussions, and (6) addressing reimbursement to maintain pharmacist-delivered PrEP and PEP programs. HIV disproportionately affects minority communities and younger individuals who may not be engaged in the health care system. Community pharmacies are accessible and can help increase PrEP use. Expansion of community pharmacy PrEP programs are needed to help end the HIV epidemic. Implementation of PrEP requires adaptation of the pharmacy profession to support incorporation of PrEP in a community pharmacy. Endorsement and support of community pharmacists are needed to implement PrEP to increase HIV prevention efforts and expand pharmacists' scope of practice.

Pharmacists performing hepatitis C antibody point-of-care screening in a community pharmacy: A pilot project.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the first community pharmacy-based hepatitis C antibody (HCV-Ab) point-of-care (POC) screening program and its outcomes in California. SETTING: Community pharmacy. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION: Community pharmacists perform HCV-Ab POC testing, counsel patients about HCV transmission and prevention, and provide linkage to care. PRACTICE INNOVATION: Pharmacists implement an HCV-Ab POC screening program in collaboration with the local public health department. EVALUATION: Descriptive data of the demographics of the persons receiving HCV-Ab POC screening and qualitative assessment of the attitudes and knowledge of the trained pharmacists involved in its implementation. RESULTS: During the 3-month pilot, 6 community pharmacists performed 83 HCV-Ab rapid POC tests with 1 positive result (1.2%). Risk factors for the positive result included injection drug use, crack cocaine or methamphetamine use, and being in the high-risk birth cohort. Although some expressed reservations, pharmacists attested to the feasibility of incorporating HCV screening into their routine pharmacy work. Two major barriers identified by pharmacists for implementing HCV screening included getting non-pharmacy customers into the pharmacy for testing and balancing the time required to review test results within the normal pharmacy workflow. CONCLUSION: This pilot demonstrated that trained and motivated community pharmacists in partnership with the Department of Public Health could perform needed rapid HCV-Ab POC screening for potentially high-risk patients not currently in care. Community pharmacies are viable locations for screening and linkage to care owing to their easy access to knowledgeable pharmacists and accessible locations.

Health care provider satisfaction with telephone consultations provided by pharmacists and physicians at the National HIV/AIDS Clinicians' Consultation Center.

BACKGROUND: The federally funded National HIV/AIDS Clinicians' Consultation Center (NCCC) offers US health care providers expert telephone consultations for managing HIV/AIDS and occupational exposures to blood-borne pathogens through 3 telephone services: the National Clinicians' Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Hotline (PEPline), the National HIV Telephone Consultation Service (Warmline), and the Perinatal HIV Hotline. Callers to the NCCC receive consultation from either a clinical pharmacist (PharmD) or a physician (MD) with HIV expertise. OBJECTIVE: To compare the satisfaction of NCCC callers who received clinical consultations from clinical pharmacists and physicians with HIV expertise. METHODS: We prospectively mailed 1256 satisfaction surveys to NCCC health care provider callers during a 7-month period. Survey recipients were not aware that satisfaction surveys compared PharmD and MD consultation services. Respondents rated their level of agreement with 8 statements about the quality of consultation, the quality of clinical information given, and future calls to the NCCC. RESULTS: Survey return rates were 43% for PEPline and 40% for Warmline and Perinatal HIV Hotline combined. Overall, caller satisfaction with the telephone consultation service was extremely high (>4 in all categories on a 1-5 Likert scale). There was no significant difference in PEPline caller satisfaction ratings between PharmD and MD consultations. Callers to the Warmline and Perinatal HIV Hotline agreed with all 8 satisfaction statements. For the following 3 statements, however, satisfaction was higher when Warmline and Perinatal HIV Hotline consultation was provided by an MD: "Overall, I was pleased with the quality of my consultation" (p = 0.04); "I would use this service again" (p < 0.02); and "I am likely to recommend this service to my colleagues" (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Health care provider callers to the NCCC were highly satisfied with the information obtained from this HIV/AIDS telephone consultation service. By measuring callers' survey response to PharmD and MD consultations, the importance of the clinicians' contributions to this advanced HIV/AIDS consultation service is documented.

Cinacalcet: An oral calcimimetic agent for the management of hyperparathyroidism.

BACKGROUND: Uncontrolled hyperparathyroidism (HPT), particularly HPT resulting from chronic kidney disease (CKD), is associated with significant morbidity and cardiovascular mortality. Traditional medical therapy (eg, vitamin D sterols, calcium, phosphate binders) has been inadequate for the management of HPT and its vascular and skeletal complications. OBJECTIVE: : The goal of this article was to review the efficacy and safety profile of cinacalcet, a second-generation calcimimetic, in the management of HPT secondary to CKD, primary HPT, and parathyroid carcinoma. METHODS: MEDLINE, Web of Science, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts were searched from 1995 to July 2005 using the terms cinacalcet, AMG 073, KRN 1493, calcimimetics, hypercalcemia, and hyperparathyroidism. RESULTS: Compared with placebo, cinacalcet significantly reduced parathyroid hormone levels within 2 to 4 hours after administration (P < 0.05). In Phase III trials involving 1136 patients with secondary HPT, 56% of those who received cinacalcet achieved the National Kidney Foundation Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative target of a reduction in parathyroid hormone to <300 pg/mL, 65% achieved a calcium-phosphorus product <55 mg2/dL2, and a respective 49% and 46% achieved normalized serum calcium and phosphorus levels (P < 0.001). Cinacalcet's effects were similar regardless of patients' demographic characteristics, duration or mode of dialysis, severity of HPT, or use of concomitant medical therapy. Preliminary evidence suggests that cinacalcet may reverse cortical bone loss. Cinacalcet was well tolerated, with nausea (31%) and vomiting (27%) being the most commonly reported adverse effects. Hypocalcemia was transient in 5% of patients, was usually asymptomatic, and was corrected by dose reduction. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the available evidence, cinacalcet is effective and well tolerated in the treatment of secondary HPT and refractory parathyroid carcinoma. Its use in primary HPT appears promising. Further investigations are needed to determine if cinacalcet can prevent the long-term complications of HPT and reduce mortality.

Outcomes of dual-protease inhibitor salvage therapy in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients referred to a telephone consultation service.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical outcomes of dual-protease inhibitor salvage therapy in heavily experienced patients after their providers consulted the National HIV Telephone Consultation Service (Warmline, 800-933-3413). DESIGN: Observational survey study. SETTING: Consultation service for United States health care providers. PATIENTS: Thirty-one human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients who had received previous treatment with at least two protease inhibitor--or nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor--based regimens and had a viral load of at least 1000 copies/ml. INTERVENTION: Patients whose providers consulted Warmline regarding antiretroviral salvage regimens were identified through a review of telephone calls from January-July 2001. Virologic and immunologic outcomes were determined for patients who had received a regimen containing either ritonavir and indinavir or ritonavir and amprenavir. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Primary outcomes were percentages of patients with a viral load less than 500 copies/ml at 3 and 6 months and changes in log10 viral load and CD4+ cell count at 3 and 6 months compared with baseline values. By using intent-to-treat analysis, a viral load less than 500 copies/ml was achieved in 35% of the 31 patients at 3 months and in 32% of them at 6 months. By using as-treated analysis, this outcome was achieved in 48% of 23 patients who continued therapy at 3 months and in 59% of 17 patients who continued therapy at 6 months. At 3 months (23 patients) and 6 months (17 patients), respectively, changes in viral load were -1.7 log10 copies/ml (p<0.001) and -1.4 log10 copies/ml (p<0.001), and changes in CD4+ cell count were +99 cells/mm3 (p<0.001) and +95 mm3 (p=0.012), compared with baseline. CONCLUSION: Significant improvements in virologic and immunologic markers occurred in patients heavily experienced with antiretroviral therapy after starting dual-protease inhibitor treatment regimens. Salvage therapy guided by Warmline consultation appears to be beneficial for this patient population with limited treatment options.