Emergency PEP Online

Emergency PEP Online is available by telehealth from anywhere in Australia through Clinic365. A Specialist GP consults with you by phone, arranges the appropriate treatment and sends your referral electronically to any pharmacy. No in-person visit is needed. The same expert care, from anywhere in Australia.

PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) is a 28-day course of antiretroviral medication taken after potential HIV exposure to prevent infection. Time is critical — PEP must be started within 72 hours of exposure, and effectiveness is highest when started within two hours. According to the Australian STI Management Guidelines, PEP should be considered after condomless anal or vaginal sex with a partner of unknown or positive HIV status, condom failure, needle-stick injuries, and sexual assault.

Your Specialist GP will assess the specific circumstances of your exposure to determine whether PEP is recommended. Not all exposures carry the same risk — receptive anal sex carries the highest per-act transmission risk, followed by receptive vaginal sex and insertive anal sex. Your GP will explain the risk assessment and recommend PEP if the level of risk warrants it.

The standard PEP regimen is a combination of antiretroviral medications taken for 28 days. The most commonly prescribed regimen is a combination of antiretroviral medications. Adherence to the full 28-day course is critical — stopping early significantly reduces effectiveness. Common side effects include nausea, fatigue, and headache, which typically improve after the first week.

Before starting PEP, an HIV test is performed to confirm you are not already HIV-positive. If the situation is urgent, PEP may be started before results are available, with the test done concurrently. Follow-up testing is required at four to six weeks and three months after completing PEP to confirm HIV-negative status.

If you need PEP outside clinic hours (8am–8pm), Clinic365's 24/7 on-call doctor is available ($249, Medicare rebate $85–$135). Every hour of delay reduces PEP effectiveness, so do not wait until the next business day if exposure occurred on a weekend or evening. Your on-call doctor can prescribe PEP immediately and send the prescription to your nearest open pharmacy.

HIV and STI prevention strategies have advanced significantly in recent years, giving individuals more control over their sexual health than ever before. Your Specialist GP will assess your individual risk profile, discuss all available prevention options, and recommend the approach that best fits your lifestyle and sexual practices. Prevention is most effective when combined with regular screening — Clinic365 recommends a full STI screen at least every three months for individuals at higher risk.

All prevention through Clinic365 is PBS-eligible where applicable, keeping out-of-pocket costs low. Your GP will explain the dosing regimen, monitoring requirements, potential side effects, and what to do if you miss a dose or experience an exposure. Ongoing management is designed to be as simple as possible — with quarterly refills available for $39 online and pathology referrals sent by SMS. If your circumstances change or you have questions between appointments, telehealth consultations are available for $59.

Prevention is a core part of Clinic365's approach to sexual health. In addition to medication-based prevention, your Specialist GP can discuss comprehensive risk reduction strategies including condom use, regular screening schedules, vaccination against HPV and hepatitis, and harm reduction approaches. The goal is to empower you with the knowledge and tools to make informed decisions about your sexual health. Prevention consultations can be combined with routine STI screening, making it easy to address multiple aspects of your sexual health in a single appointment.