HIV PrEP
Medication to reduce the risk of HIV infection for men who have sex with men is available.
Dr Jake Benson has a special interest in the promotion and protection of sexual health and wellbeing in gay and bisexual men. He provides PrEP care and prescriptions with highly professional, non-judgemental medical care.
What is HIV PrEP?
HIV PrEP is a pill combining two medications that when taken as prescribed, can reduce the transmission of HIV by over 90%.
At the Auckland Men’s Clinic, Dr Jake Benson provides HIV PrEP consultations.
Jake has a special interest in the promotion and protection of sexual health and wellbeing in gay and bisexual men. This interest extends to helping assess and treat medical issues specific to this community.
He understands that stigma can be a barrier to seeking care and is committed to providing a supportive, non-judgmental space where sexual health can be discussed freely and confidentially. He is listed as a HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) provider with the Burnett Foundation.
What happens at a consultation?
Every appointment is different, but here’s what to expect from a typical treatment plan with Specialist GP, Dr Jake Benson.
Our initial consultation
Your initial PrEP consultation will be 30 minutes ($200). We will undertake a robust review of your medical and sexual history along with your current medications, undertake an examination and arrange appropriate initial tests, and discuss treatment options.
Once we receive your test results, a prescription will be sent to your local pharmacy for you to collect.
Ongoing Support and Follow-up
PrEP is prescribed every three months and requires repeat STI testing (which includes blood tests) at these time intervals. The cost of these quarterly reviews including prescriptions is $40.00.
PrEP is prescribed for 3 months at a time. At each prescription you will be provided with a lab referral to update STI and other necessary tests, which must be done a week prior to requesting your next prescription.
Once you have done your tests at the lab, you can request a repeat prescription. Once we have received and checked the lab results, the prescription will be sent to your pharmacy, and the lab referral for the next cycle will be set up. The cost of the quarterly prescription, lab referral and checking of results is $35.
If an infection is detected, or if there are other abnormalities in your tests, you will need to make an appointment for assessment and treatment. This will be charged at our usual rate of $100 per 15 minutes.
For ongoing prescriptions, you will need to have an annual review consultation. We will check that things are going ok with the treatment, check your blood pressure, update on your health status and check your medication. We will update your Authority application if needed. The cost of the annual review will be $100.00, and this will include an examination, appropriate blood tests and prescription.
Booking an appointment
To book an initial HIV PrEP consultation, please click the “Book appointment” button below, enter your details and select HIV PrEP consultation.