Prescribing clinician specialty influences adherence to PrEP

In a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the association between patients abandoning or reversing the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) prescription and the specialty of the prescribing clinician has been assessed. Overall, 37,003 patients who were prescribed PrEP were assessed using pharmacy claims data. The majority of patients (67%) received their prescription from primary care practitioners (PCPs), 10% from infectious disease specialists and 24% from other specialty clinicians. Patients who were prescribed PrEP by infectious disease specialists had lower odds of PrEP reversal (OR 0.90; 95% CI 0.81–0.99) and abandonment (OR 0.88; 95% CI 0.78–0.98) than patients receiving prescription from PCPs. These results indicate that PrEP compliance differs according to the prescribing clinician specialty and that PCPs, who are often the first patient access point to PrEP care, should be supported with PrEP education and resources.