Welcome to the latest episode of Talking Meds and the PrescQIPP podcast, engaging conversations about medicines-related dilemmas. Today, your host Jonathan Underhill, Medicines Clinical Adviser at PrescQIPP, talks to Hayley Berry about the update to the NICE Guideline on the identification and management of the menopause, published in November 2024.

Hayley has a background in community pharmacy and general practice and now works for CPPE at the University of Manchester as a Lead learning development pharmacist. As a pharmacist independent prescriber, she works at a private menopause clinic and was a member of the NICE Menopause guideline development committee.

Jonathan and Hayley discuss the important aspects of the update and touch on some of the somewhat controversial issues that surround this subject. The choice about whether to take HRT or not is a highly preference sensitive decision, where the values and preference of each woman needs to be taken into account. They discuss the various tools available to help facilitate those conversations, particularly the discussion tool published by NICE to accompany the guideline update, as well as the excellent GP Evidence website and the upcoming patient decision aid being developed by the Winton Centre.

They also discuss the research recommendations within the guideline, highlighting how relatively poor the existing evidence base is for the management of the menopause.

Resources mentioned in this episode include:

NICE Guideline on Menopause: identification and management. NG 23 – updated November 2024

Tools from NICE to communicate the benefits and risks of HRT

GP Evidence has summarised the evidence on the benefits and risks of HRT for menopause.

Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication – watch this space for the upcoming menopause patient decision aid

NICE CKS Menopause topic (excellent for a quick summary of the guidance)

Useful related resources from PrescQIPP:

PrescQIPP Bulletin 299. Menopause

PrescQIPP Clinical Masterclass on 29th January 2025 on the NICE Menopause Guideline

A new episode of Talking Meds will be available every other Friday.
If you have feedback or suggestions for future topics and guests please submit them to talkingmeds@prescqipp.info

PrescQIPP is funded by the NHS for the NHS, and our aim is to improve medicines-related care for patients. We do this by producing high quality evidence-based resources and training, and by facilitating networks between NHS organisations and professionals.

The majority of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals across the UK can access our resources by registering and logging on to our website. If you have any difficulty accessing the website you can email help@prescqipp.info and we’ll aim to sort things out for you.

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