Borne of necessity: pharmacy-based harm reduction and express sexually transmitted infection services

Background

HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV), Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), and substance use disorder are interrelated epidemics. Augmented services to respond to this “syndemic” are hampered by shortages of health care workers, especially in rural areas. In an Indian Health Service hospital in rural Minnesota, the pharmacy sought to integrate harm reduction and express STI services into its scope of practice.

Objectives

Provide pharmacy-based harm reduction and express STI services to increase access to care for community members, especially those without a primary care provider.

Methods

The program was designed with input from tribal counterparts and internal medical staff. The pharmacy window was made the intake point for services for patient education, harm reduction materials, and STI testing and treatment. Collaborative practice agreements and standing orders greatly expanded the pharmacy’s ability to deliver care. Later in the program, the pharmacy was able to introduce patient incentives.

Results

From October 2022 to November 2023, the program had 500 visits from 101 unique patients with a median age of 36. Among users of the service, 71% did not have a primary care provider. Once patient incentives were introduced, express STI testing increased over 10-fold. The laboratory panels had a 44% positivity rate for either an STI or HCV.

Conclusions

Pharmacy can be an accessible and effective means of delivering harm reduction, STI, and HCV services. Patient incentives may greatly increase testing and detection of infectious diseases among patients who may otherwise not seek care.