June 2022 Blogs

IHS Test to Treat Initiative Promotes Access to COVID-19 Outpatient Treatment

June 23, 2022
by Matthew A. Clark, MD, FACP, FAAP, IHS Chief Medical Officer for the Alaska Area Native Health Service, and Chairman of the IHS National Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 has had a significant impact in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Compared to non-Hispanic whites, American Indian and Alaska Native people have a higher cumulative COVID-19 incidence at 2.2 to 3.5 times; a ... Continue reading

Pharmacist-Led Program Expands Access to PrEP in Indian Health Service

PrEP medications are safe and effective and can help prevent one from getting HIV. More than one million people in the U.S. could benefit from taking PrEP medicines, but only a tiny fraction of those actually get a prescription. In addition, many people do not know about PrEP medication and how it ... Continue reading

IHS Recognizes National Safety Month: Spotlight of Sharps Mail-Back Program Pilot

June 13, 2022
by Cmdr. David Bales, Environmental Health Officer, Oklahoma City Area IHS

The Oklahoma City Area Division of Environmental Health Services and Pawnee Indian Health Center pharmacy department piloted a sharps mail-back program as an innovative approach to collect and discard used needles. Multiple community partners assisted with this program, including the Oklahoma Department ... Continue reading