After a PEP Prescription: Confirm the 28-Day Care Plan

If you think you have recently been exposed to HIV, contact a healthcare provider, emergency department or urgent care service right away about PEP. It must start within 72 hours of exposure, and sooner is better. Do not wait to organize notes before seeking care.¹

Confirm what the prescription requires

PEP, or post-exposure prophylaxis, is medicine used to prevent HIV after a possible exposure. CDC¹ says prescribed PEP is taken daily for 28 days.¹

• Ask the prescriber or pharmacist to go through your exact medicines and instructions.
• Confirm when to take them and what to do if you miss a dose or vomit after taking one.
• Ask whom to contact for advice rather than changing the schedule or taking extra medicine yourself.

Keep the written instructions somewhere you can reach them. Discuss a reminder that fits your day, and ask for help if any part of the routine is difficult.

Check access to the whole course

Before leaving, clarify whether you have the full supply or need to collect more. Ask where any remaining medicine will come from and whom to call if collection is delayed.

CDC¹ describes possible assistance with PEP costs, depending on the circumstances and coverage. A healthcare provider may be able to request manufacturer assistance urgently when insurance does not cover the medicine.¹

Tell the service immediately if cost or access could interrupt the prescription. Ask it to help resolve the problem and explain the plan you should follow while it does so.

Know how to ask about side effects

CDC¹ notes that PEP may cause side effects such as nausea and that side effects can usually be treated.¹

Ask which symptoms should prompt a call and which require urgent care for your prescribed medicines. Get a contact for evenings or weekends. Describe the problem to the team and request advice before changing treatment yourself.

Arrange the next conversation

Ask what appointments and tests the service wants, who will arrange them and who will explain the results. Keep those details beside the prescription rather than relying on memory.

PEP is for emergencies and does not replace regular prevention methods. CDC¹ advises discussing PrEP, medicine taken before exposure, if HIV exposure may be frequent.¹

Ask whether a separate prevention discussion belongs in your follow-up. Let the clinician guide the options for your circumstances.

Down There, Decoded includes a See script for appointments. Use it to organize care-plan questions alongside the prescribing team’s instructions. See the book.