Best Practice Strategies

After developing the Best Practices Tool, ISCI researchers applied it to a set of research studies examining implementation strategies. They assigned evidence levels to each of the strategies for five different categories, which was then used to identify an overall rating. Strategies that have been assigned “Best Practice” or “Promising” overall are listed below, along with detailed instructions on how they can be adapted and applied to different populations and regions.

Integrated Pharmacy and PrEP Navigation Services to Support PrEP Uptake

Summary: Integrates a patient navigation tool with quality improvement processes and data monitoring, which directly engages patients about their barriers to filling a PrEP prescription. Set in an urban sexual health clinic with an onsite pharmacy and focuses on the role of non-medical clinic support staff in reducing time from initial PrEP prescription to patient pickup.

Resources provided: Patient navigation tool, project protocol and summary​, and materials on quality improvement processes and models.

Key benefits: Effectively captures a mix of patient barriers and reduces time to prescription pick up. Initiates multiple clinic-level changes to improve patient processes and engagement.

Equity impact potential: Using the tool is a successful way to engage patients, and has a positive impact on groups disproportionately burdened by HIV.

Resources and structures needed:

    • Ability to routinely review PrEP prescriptions not picked up
    • Clinician or staff member(s) responsible for giving tool to patients that don’t pick up PrEP prescriptions
    • Willingness within the organization to change patient flow and systems
    • Ability to convene clinical staff to discuss identified barriers
    • Clinician or staff member(s) responsible for providing training to pharmacists and clinicians as necessary on reported patient barriers to PrEP initiation

Strategy status: Complete and available for use.

Download the strategy summary
View the full strategy guide

Up Next: HIV Testing Strategies

Summary: Evidence-based interventions for HIV prevention.

Status: Systematic review of relevant literature in progress.

Article citation: McKay, Virginia R., alithia zamantakis, Ana Michaela Pachicano, James L. Merle, Morgan R. Purrier, McKenzie Swan, Dennis H. Li, et al. “Establishing Evidence Criteria for Implementation Strategies in the US: A Delphi Study for HIV Services.” Implementation Science 19, no. 1 (July 15, 2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-024-01379-3.

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