Bicillin Delivery Program

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

​The Bicillin Delivery Program, developed by the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health (SBCDPH) Communicable Disease Section (CDS), provides free medication to patients who are diagnosed with syphilis but are unable to afford treatment. The program operates by having SBCDPH Communicable Disease Investigators (CDIs) and nurses complete a Bicillin Delivery Request form for patients unable to access bicillin treatment for syphilis. Nurse Care Managers then retrieve the medication and deliver it to the patient’s providers for administration. The majority of the requests for bicillin have been for priority populations at-risk for syphilis, such as pregnant patients or Females of Childbearing Age (15-44 years old) (FCBA) patients. The program has successfully treated persons with early and late syphilis and prevented further complications, such as neurosyphilis and congenital syphilis (CS). Since its inception, the program has completed 30 deliveries to 23 providers in the County and has ensured timely administration at an average of 3 days from request to delivery. Furthermore, this program has served as an example for home visit treatment requests. With free access to bicillin, the program addresses a significant socioeconomic barrier to treatment and greatly benefits the priority populations in the County.