By Bob Katzen

On October 26, 2023, the Senate 38-0, approved and sent to the House a bill that would allow pharmacists to prescribe, dispense and administer a short-term supply (60-days once in a two-year period) of HIV prevention drugs, known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), to a patient without a prescription. The House took no action on the bill and it died.

The bill requires pharmacists to provide counseling to the patient regarding the use of PrEP, to inform the patient’s primary care doctor that the pharmacist has prescribed the drug, to connect patients without a primary care provider with a health care provider for ongoing care and to obtain a prescription for PrEP.
Under the bill, pharmacists could only prescribe PrEP to patients who have tested negative for HIV within the past seven days, do not have HIV symptoms and are not taking medications that are not safe to use with PrEP.
Supporters said that PrEP is a life-saving medication that is 100 percent effective in stopping the transmission of HIV. They note that under current law, individuals who take PrEP must make an appointment and go through their doctor, a barrier that can stand in the way for people who need the medication on short notice, cannot make an appointment or cannot access medical care.
Last week, sponsor Sen. Julian Cyr (D-Truro) did not respond to Beacon Hill Roll Call’s repeated requests to comment on the bill dying in the House and whether he has ref