Public health leaders from AIDS United, Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, the Black Public Health Academy, and the National Pharmaceutical Association announced this week a new initiative to help community pharmacies expand HIV prevention services in communities disproportionately impacted by HIV.
Rx for Change is a community-centered and led strategy that will engage pharmacies and community-based organizations, through a comprehensive training and partnership model, to increase access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and other HIV prevention services. The initiative will begin with a pilot in Georgia and Louisiana, two states experiencing high rates of new HIV diagnoses.
The launch of Rx for Change coincides with Georgia Senate Bill 195 being signed into law on May 5. The new law authorizes pharmacists in Georgia to prescribe HIV prevention medications such as PrEP and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). It also helps expand the role of pharmacists as frontline health care providers and increases access to prevention services in communities with limited health care infrastructure. By allowing pharmacists to prescribe PrEP, it provides a new pathway for individuals to access HIV prevention services quickly, conveniently, and confidentially. Louisiana enacted a similar law in 2024.
Research shows community pharmacies are uniquely positioned to expand HIV prevention services because they offer a convenient and cost-effective way to connect individuals to prevention services, particularly in communities where access to traditional health care settings is limited.
Natalie Crawford, PhD, associate professor at Rollins, says expanding pharmacy-based HIV prevention services could increase PrEP access points by as much as 80-fold in the southeastern U.S. since nearly 90% of Americans live within five miles of a pharmacy.
“Pharmacies are often one of the most accessible and trusted points of care in our communities, especially in places where too many people still face barriers to prevention, testing, and treatment,” says Carl Baloney, Jr., president and CEO of AIDS United. “Rx for Change is about turning access into action by equipping pharmacists and community-based organizations with the tools, training, and partnerships they need to bring PrEP and other HIV prevention services directly to the people who need them most. This is how we close gaps, build trust, and move closer to ending new HIV diagnoses.”
Rx for Change will help close persistent gaps in HIV prevention by integrating HIV testing and prevention services into routine pharmacy care, providing enhanced workforce training, and strengthening partnerships between pharmacies and community-based organizations.
“Legislative health policies are only meaningful when they translate into improved outcomes for the communities they are designed to serve. Community-based organizations are uniquely positioned to partner with pharmacies as trusted voices in expanding access, strengthening service delivery, and helping lead the way to end new HIV diagnoses,” says Leisha McKinley-Beach, founder of the Black Public Health Academy.
Rx for Change is supported in part by the Elton John AIDS Foundation, a leader in the HIV response dedicated to ending the AIDS epidemic and its stigma. By funding trusted community-based organizations, the Foundation is helping expand PrEP access efficiently and cost-effectively, reaching more people faster and more equitably. The project is also supported in part by Merck.
“Pharmacists are medication experts that have been instrumental in managing patients being treated for HIV/AIDS and decreasing the spread of the virus since it was officially recognized almost 45 years ago,” says Tamara McCants, PharmD, president of National Pharmaceutical Association. “This collaborative initiative strengthens the efforts of pharmacy personnel to deliver enhanced HIV prevention services in historically underserved communities of the South.”
Community pharmacies and organizations interested in participating in the Rx for Change initiative should email: RxforChange@emory.edu.