The Power of Sharing the Love: Creating a Free PrEP Clinic to Prevent HIV Infection

Daily PrEP has been demonstrated to lower the risk of HIV acquisition by more than 90% in multiple clinical trials and has recently received an ‘A' level recommendation from the United States Preventive Service Task Force. Currently , outpatient PrEP services allow high-risk individuals the ability to decrease their risk for HIV acquisition and offer frequent HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, treatment, and education. Uptake on PrEP services among populations at highest risk of HIV acquisition has been limited by lack of health insurance and access to care. Providers at the Infectious Disease Clinic at U-Health targeted this at risk population to offer PrEP services for free, to help reduce the incidences of new HIV diagnosis. Implementation of a free PrEP clinic for uninsured patients is a feasible and effective strategy to reach key populations at risk for HIV. STI rates are high in this population and concurrent testing increases effective treatment.