Public health experts say Georgia Senate Bill 195 could help stop thousands of new HIV diagnoses by allowing pharmacists to dispense medications used to prevent HIV.
Natalie Crawford, an associate professor in Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, said people at high risk of contracting HIV would also be able to get screened locally — and privately.
“Pharmacies are disease-neutral,” she said. “No one knows whether you’re going in for a bag of chips or for a chronic disease medication. And so this is something that really increases access in ways that we haven’t seen before.”
The patient could pick up a prescription the same day as the screening, Crawford said.
The version of the bill that passed the Georgia Senate called for approval or development of a training program for pharmacists by the Georgia State Board of Pharmacy. Then, pharmacists who complete the training are authorized to dispense preexposure prophylaxis and postexposure prophylaxis — collectively known as PrEP — under certain conditions.
Currently, these medications are only available from doctors.
The bill moves to the House for its input, amendments and possible passage before returning to the Senate for a final vote.
This article appears on Now Habersham through a news partnership with GPB News
