VAC launches PrEP Clinic and full STI testing at PRONTO!
LESS than a week after it was announced that聽聽to include 2600 participants, the Victorian聽AIDS Council (VAC) has opened a new聽PrEP clinic and full STI screening service at its聽PRONTO! rapid HIV testing clinic.
Clients can now book appointments online for the PrEP clinic, where an experienced GP聽takes聽them through the basics of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV.
The GP can also聽help with accessing PrEP, through baseline tests, prescriptions, and current information on how to safely and legally import PrEP drugs from overseas.
VAC chief executive Simon Ruth said public interest in the state’s PrEP trial is flowing in, 鈥渂ut until it begins the easiest way to access PrEP will continue to be through overseas imports using a prescription from a GP鈥�.
鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting to see so many Victorians keen to take responsibility for their sexual health, and the new PrEP clinic at PRONTO! will make sure our community has another way to access this game-changing HIV prevention method sooner rather than later,鈥� Ruth added.
PrEP is a HIV-prevention drug, where HIV-negative people take medication to prevent the transmission of HIV.
In Australia, Truvada 鈥斅燼 PrEP drug 鈥斅爄s still聽. A decision is not expected to occur until the end of 2017 and if approved, it would then need to go through the process of being listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
This delay is聽the reason why聽many聽gay men choose to in the meantime.
Alongside the PrEP clinic, PRONTO! is introducing full STI testing for the first time, with tests for chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis now offered as part of a standard appointment for rapid HIV testing.
Appointments also include the option for a parallel HIV blood test, which has a shorter window period than the rapid test.
Clients who test positive for STIs can be referred to a new, in-house GP for treatment, or details can be forwarded to a regular GP if preferred.
PRONTO! manager Peter Locke said despite these new additions to the service, it will continue to feel like the safe space clients have come to trust over the past two and a half years.
鈥淓xisting clients who have come to trust PRONTO!鈥檚 world-class, peer-led model can rest assured that the peers are still running the same service, we鈥檙e just offering a few additional options for STI testing,鈥� Locke said.
To book appointments for the PrEP clinic, a rapid HIV-test or full STI testing, visit .
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