Welcome to the March issue of the Journal of Prescribing Practice. On the 21 February 2023, it was announced that the UK government would start subsidising the price of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), with around 400 000 women in England potentially benefiting from the scheme (gov.uk, 2023).
It is likely that you've noticed HRT being a topic of conversation in both news and healthcare circles recently, especially with this scheme following the recent discussions about how to better support menopausal women in the workplace. At my own workplace, our gender equality network has been reviewing how best to support staff during this time. As a man, it can sometimes be difficult to comprehend the importance of this support, which is why conversations like these are so essential. It's equally important that these discussions are heard by everyone, not just those experiencing menopause, so we can all play our part in supporting a more compassionate environment. I'm sure this is true of the non-medical prescribing community, where you have most likely been asked for advice and guidance from women experiencing menopause. With these new initiatives in place, your guidance will become even more crucial when directing women towards the help available to them.
As pharmacists, many of you may be the primary point of contact when guiding women towards the new pre-payment service, which will reduce HRT costs to less than £20 per year. This vital knowledge can often be missed by those who are not following the latest updates. Before I used it myself, and before my time at the journal, I was unfamiliar with the NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate. It was only thanks to a kind pharmacist who noticed that I was visiting them every month for multiple prescriptions that the service was recommended to me. This is not something that has been significantly advertised, and certainly not something I assumed existed, so I never thought to ask. This highlights how your roles are crucial not only in providing healthcare advice but also in directing patients towards the best services to support their financial needs in relation to healthcare.
The gov.uk (2023) press release also outlines how the government has accepted the recommendations of the HRT Taskforce, which includes encouraging and supporting manufacturers to increase supply to meet growing demand and continuing to issue serious shortage protocols (SSPs) when necessary to balance distribution. This involves allowing alternative products to be dispensed when necessary and reducing the need for the patient to return to their prescriber. It doesn't feel like too long ago when I was starting out at the journal and writing my very first editorial about the HRT shortages of 2019 (Allaway, 2019). Hopefully, protocols like these should help ensure that this doesn't happen again and my future editorials will continue to report on the more positive changes that are being made across the sector.