There are numerous reports of missing guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control concerning pharmacists prescribing HIV PEP/PrEP and contraception. State laws and regulations define pharmacists' scope of practice, but states' scope of practice laws often reference from federal guidelines from the CDC. Current CDC resources for clinicians are undergoing modifications to comply with the most recent Trump administration executive orders. Some data has been restored since over 1,000 pages were removed from the CDC last week, including HIV and tuberculosis data.
Some archived pages can be accessed here, and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices page remains accessible after having been previously removed. Pharmacists have varied prescriptive authority to administer PEP/PrEP in 27 states and can independently prescribe contraception in 30 states. With some state pharmacy scope of practice laws relying on CDC guidelines, this can prevent the development of any new prevention programs and newly graduated and licensed pharmacists no longer have easily accessible source materials for practice. The uncertainty surrounding guidelines for pharmacists prescribing will delay care to patients who already need it the most. We will continue to keep you updated as we receive additional information.
