Kevin Astle, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP, AAHIVP, CDCES

One molecule now carries both a prevention and a treatment indication, and the panel outlines how pharmacists serve as the critical checkpoint against dispensing errors and inadvertent monotherapy.

As people with HIV live longer, first-line decisions increasingly hinge on cardiovascular risk, comorbidities, and drug interactions — areas where the pharmacist's full view of the medication list matters most.

Integrase inhibitors remain the clear first choice, yet prior long-acting PrEP exposure and the practical realities of same-day starts are reshaping when alternatives make more sense.

Before weighing new options, the panel resets the foundation: how antiretroviral classes work, what the 2026 DHHS update actually changed, and why therapy should start as soon as possible.

Kevin Astle, PharmD, says expanding pharmacy services to HIV prevention and testing helps meet patients where they are.