HIV Prevention Is Solved. Delivering It Is Not

LeadershipForbesWomenHIV Prevention Is Solved. Delivering It Is NotByGeri Stengel,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Geri Stengel writes about the success factors of women entrepreneurs. Follow AuthorJun 12, 2026, 07:00am EDTMore than 1.2 million Americans could benefit from PrEP. Only 36% have ever been prescribed it. The pill exists. The system to deliver it is still being built.gettyPre-exposure prophylaxis, better known as PrEP, reduces the risk of HIV transmission by 99% when taken as directed. The drug works. It has worked for more than a decade. Yet only 36% of people who could benefit from it have ever been prescribed it — and in New York City alone, 1,791 people received a new HIV diagnosis in 2024,vthe majority of them Black, Latino, or gay. Women are less likely to take PrEP.This is not a science problem. It is a delivery problem. On June 9, Wisp, the largest pure-play women's telehealth company in the U.S., and the Mount Sinai Health System announced what they describe as the first fully remote HIV prevention program launched by a New York City medical system. The collaboration embeds Wisp's consumer-grade platform directly inside Mount Sinai's clinical infrastructure. The ambition goes well beyond a single drug.The Drug Has Been Ready. The System Hasn'tThe barriers are structural and well-documented: stigma, provider shortages, insurance complexity, and a deep distrust of healthcare institutions in the communities most affected. "It's unacceptable that so many people still can't access PrEP, given it is one of the most effective solutions we have today to prevent HIV," said Monica Cepak, CEO of Wisp.Telehealth has made inroads. Nearly 20% of U.S. PrEP users —more than 110,000 people—accessed it via telemedicine in 2024. But most of those programs operate as standalone virtual clinics, disconnected from health systems, primary care records, and the kind of clinical dep...