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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas City, Kansas, clinic is offering a medication used to prevent infection in people at high risk of getting the AIDS virus.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration two years ago approved the HIV drug, Truvada, for HIV prevention. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines in May recommending that doctors offer Truvada to people at substantial risk of HIV infection, such as those in a sexual relationship with someone who is HIV-positive, The Kansas City Star reported (http://bit.ly/1lvOKDQ ).
Sharon Lee, CEO of Family Health Care, a health care center in Kansas City, Kansas, is holding a weekly clinic at the health center for people who want to take the drug. The clinic is among the first of its kind in the nation, Lee said.
"We have a possibility presented to us of preventing new infections of HIV. This is one tool I think we should be using," she said.
Truvada, however, has been slow to catch on.
"Doctors are uncomfortable prescribing it," Lee said. Expense is another issue. Truvada costs about $13,000 annually. Not all insurance plans cover it, but the drug's manufacturer offers some discounts.
Lee said unlike her health center, the new clinic won't be operated as a safety net service. Patients will be charged about $300 for their first visit, which includes an HIV test and physical exam. Follow-up visits every three months will cost about $140.
"Maybe this will galvanize other providers to offer this treatment," she said.
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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com
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