# Feasibility of pharmacy-delivered patient navigation + virtual buprenorphine + HIV services

> **NIH NIH R34** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2022 · $174,890

## Abstract

Pharmacies are nationally emerging as frontline public health practicing spaces due to their ubiquity, accessibility
to medication and screening, and rapid scalability. Independent pharmacies, in particular, have successfully
expanded services with greater ease due to the absence of corporate restrictions, including delivery of harm
reduction services. Today, linkage to and retention in buprenorphine treatment and HIV prevention and care
remains suboptimal in many underserved, HIV burdened communities. The goal of this application is to further
expand public health pharmacy practice by exploring on-demand harm reduction services delivered by
pharmacy staff in two communities experiencing healthcare system and local community-based services
disruptions during COVID-19 (i.e., Harlem and South Bronx in New York City). Building upon two decades of
disparities-focused pharmacy-based intervention research via Pharm-Link Studies (2001-2021), and due to
recent innovations including telemedicine-based buprenorphine treatment, our team leveraged the NYC
Health+Hospitals Virtual Buprenorphine Clinic (VBC) to investigate Pharm-Link/VBC+ which entails in-
pharmacy delivery of opioid use disorder (OUD) services (i.e., low-threshold access to telemedicine-based
buprenorphine treatment initiation, naloxone dispensation/overdose prevention counseling) linked with HIV
services access (i.e., HIV testing/ counseling, PrEP/PEP dispensation, HIV treatment re/initiation) for
community/hospital EHR-recruited PWUO. Pharm-Link/VBC+ will also include public health-minded pharmacy
staff trained in harm-reduction and social determinants of health-focused patient navigation (SDH-PN) based on
use of a SDH checklist and fostered partnerships between pharmacy and community-based services staff. In
brief, the specific aims for this developmental R34 proposal are to: (Aim 1) Develop Pharm-Link/VBC+ using in-
depth interviews among 3 stakeholder groups (n=10 per group): frontline providers (pharmacists/ technicians/
clerks, buprenorphine prescribers, HIV providers, community-based organization providers), administrators
(pharmacy administrators, health department officials), and PWUO with OUD treatment history; (Aim 2) Assess
feasibility and usability of implementing Pharm-Link/VBC+ using (a) semi-structured surveys (baseline, 6-, and
12-weeks) among PWUO (n=30) across 3 sequential waves (n=10 per 12-week wave); and (b) administrative
data collected from the study pharmacies and Bellevue Hospital EHR; and (Aim 3) Finalize Pharm-Link/VBC+
for R01 scale-up using focus groups (n=3; 6-8/group) among same 3 stakeholder groups, utilizing findings from
Aim 2; and conducted and analyzed sequentially such that each group informs the next. These Aims will be
accomplished through existing partnerships with two Black-owned independent pharmacies with demonstrated
research capacity. Bolstering multi-sectoral approaches to OUD/HIV services infrastructure in low-income Black
and Latinx communitie...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10554018
- **Project number:** 1R34DA057191-01
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** CRYSTAL FULLER LEWIS
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $174,890
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-08-15 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10554018

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10554018, Feasibility of pharmacy-delivered patient navigation + virtual buprenorphine + HIV services (1R34DA057191-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10554018. Licensed CC0.

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