Pharmacist appointment for HRT?

[Unicornshorn]

I've finally decided to ask for HRT and called my GP practice today. I was told by the receptionist that they would book me an appointment with their pharmacist to discuss it as they had training in it. I explained that I was looking for the Mirena as the progesterone part and after putting me on hold for ages then told me that had to be with a GP but she has no available appointments for the next while. I've still to see the pharmacist apparently but was just surprised about this, no offence to pharmacists but I thought a GP would be needed to do a full consultation. Has anyone experienced similar?

Pharmacist will have loads of training, expertise and knowledge and best of all, will spare you the time to go through every possible option.
They can also sign post you to further info.

An untapped under appreciated, superb group of people.
Id much rather speak with a pharmacist than a GP nowadays.
Don’t forget, many are prescribers too.

Well, I consider that good news.
A pharmacist who's done a course is far better than a GP who hasn't.

They can do a full consultation.

Many people underestimate the expertise of pharmacists. They know a lot more about drugs than GPs.

They are quite able to ask the straightforward questions that need to be asked for HRT (and are better qualified than many nurses who GPs use for this.)

They will ask you about any history of blood clots, heart disease, vaginal bleeding, cancer, etc. There are very few contraindications to HRT especially transdermal types.

Obviously they can't fit a Mirena, so if that is what you want it needs a Dr or someone at a women's health clinic to do it.

Ok thanks, part of me wondered if it was a better scenario I just hadn't heard of this before. It's taken me ages to build up to making the appointment and I know after lots of research what I want/ don't want so hopefully it's worked out better then.

Just for perspective OP, in some countries like Spain you can just rock up at a pharmacy and buy your HRT (no, or few ,questions asked.)

But they can't fit a Mirena so if you are set on that, they will point you to a Dr.

Wow ok, definitely better all round then. I actually went over a year ago about my hormones and got given the progesterone only pill and sertraline by the GP and was told I didn't need HRT and I've actually been anxious ever since about then asking for it so the less I have to speak to them again the better!

Honestly you'll be better off with the Pharmacist, many are moving into GP practices now or are offering additional services to try and free up GP time....and rightly so, Pharmacists are highly qualified and under utilised, hopefully this will happen more going forward. Id much rather nip to the pharmacy for a pill check than faff about at the GP surgery!

Thanks very much everyone, I've to call back next week to see if any GP appointments to fit the Mirena but perhaps the pharmacist will suggest other progesterone. I'm still on the mini pill but thought it might be better to just have Mirena for both HRT and contraception.

I got my patches prescribed by the GP but she didn’t bother to explain how to use them, so I was really grateful that the young female pharmacist took the time to go through it all
with me when I picked up my first prescription. It makes sense to hear that they get training in it.

Pharmacists usually pay for their own CPD (courses.) Just like GPs can do if they want to! Once qualified, pharmacists add to their training with optional courses, in their own time.

Or, pharmacists read the labels on the drugs, just like GPs could.

There is no excuse for GPs not to tell patients how to use their meds.

I'd much prefer to speak to the practice pharmacist if they have an interest and training in womens health. They tend to have more time to have a consultation with you and take the time to go through everything like lifestyle advice too. And they have so much more knowledge about all the different HRT options and can talk you through them to find out what would be best for you. Obviously they need to refer certain things on to the GP, but in my experience I'd much prefer to speak to the pharmacist

I would check the clinical background of the pharmacist. What you need is HRT that works for you; taking into consideration your symptoms,medical history, any contraception needs, whether you need oestrogen only or will move on to progesterone and or testosterones and what preparations work for you. Not to mention the right advice about non-pharmacological interventions.

It's such an individual plan and you need someone with specialist menopause knowledge to help you find the options that work for you. This could be a pharmacist as long as they are a clinical pharmacist who is an independent prescriber. Otherwise they can only offer a limited range of HRT products.

Otherwise I would be looking to your GP/nurse specialist or asking for referral to a menopause specialist.

Menopause matters / the British Menopause Society has some good resources and the balance app is very popular.

I would check the clinical background of the pharmacist

All pharmacists working in a community pharmacy are clinical pharmacists/ HCP, trained to work supporting GPs.

I'm interested in what you mean by a 'clinical' pharmacist, compared to 'a pharmacist'. A pharmacist has registration with the RPS.

What would you advise the OP to check?

Not all pharmacists can prescribe independently though and they may not be meno specialists.

As pharmacists are increasingly integrated within primary care many are becoming specialists in some conditions including the menopause and that may be the model in the OP's area. However, if the Pharmacist can only supply a limited number of oestrogens under a PGD the OP would be better seeing someone who can offer a full range of interventions.

Interesting @Cuck00soup Are you are pharmacist yourself? Or a GP?

I assume that the OP's surgery has a pharmacist attached to the practice and they have this arrangement. It's not applicable to all pharmacies.

Many pharmacists now are being allowed (under the shortage of medicines act) to offer alternatives to a brand of HRT if it's not available. GPs are being advised to write scripts for a generic form of HRT (ie estradiol rather than Oestrogel) to try to make it easier for women to get something.

Hi, yes the pharmacist is shown as part of the staff team on the GP's website.