Let’s START at the very beginning

An important development in the worldwide treatment and care of HIV-infected individuals was announced earlier this week. Read on to find out what this means for HIV treatment practices moving forward…

Are we PrEPared to eradicate HIV?

In the past few months, support for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP; Truvada) has grown substantially. The CDC and WHO now endorse it, as does New York State Governor Cuomo who recently announced a multi-pronged plan to reduce the rate of new HIV infections in the state by 75% before 2020. However, the role of PrEP in curbing HIV transmission is still hotly debated – who should take it, who should pay for it, and whether or not it will work on a population level. Its price tag is about $10,000/year to insurers, it requires daily adherence for maximum benefit, and involves periodic testing to monitor a patient’s HIV status. Part of the concern is that PrEP’s effectiveness may be affected by two behavioral phenomena often experienced in health promotion: self-selection and risk compensation.