HIV Update: HIV Prevention Medication Can Now Be Delivered to Your Doorstep

HIV prevention medication Truvada for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) can now be delivered in front of your doorsteps, thanks to the new web-based app of San Francisco-based health technology startup Nurx.

"Each year, more than 40,000 Americans are infected with HIV; however studies show that if taken daily, Truvada for PrEP can significantly reduce the chances of transmission of the virus. Our app makes Truvada more accessible for people who need this revolutionary drug," Edvard Engesaeth a medical doctor and cofounder of Nurx in an e-mail.

Truvada is a daily preventive medication pill for HIV that is said to reduce the risk of acquiring the deadly virus by 90 percent.

Aside from being convenient, requesting Truvada for PrEP to be delivered in your homes are also very easy. First, you will be asked to answer a few questions and enter your insurance information and billing address. After submitting all necessary information, you will be required to get tested in one of their locations lasting for only about 15 minutes. Then your Truvada for PrEP will be promptly delivered to your home with no extra costs.

The commitment of Nurx doesn't end when you have personally receive the delivered Truvada, they also offers follow up care through the app.

"In addition to the stigma and lack of information about PrEP, there is also a shortage of doctors who will prescribe it. We are making PrEP more accessible to those that need and want it," said Hans Gangeskar, CEO and co-founder of Nurx.

After failing to utilize the gene-editing tool CRISPR/Cas9 as cure for HIV, prevention is still the best chance we have in dealing with the deadly virus.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there should be 1.2 million on Truvada but only 21,000 are actually taking the drugs. Even though the drug was already approved by the FDA, only about one-third of primary care doctors and nurses in the United States know the existence of Truvada.

At present, Nurx's Truvada for PrEP home delivery only caters to California.