Health insurers’ support for women suffering with menopause is not up to scratch and dedicated clinical pathways need to be provided, according to a specialist doctor.
Dr Karolina Afors, NHS obstetrician and gynaecologist at the Whittington Hospital, private practice at the Portland Hospital and chief medical officer at Syrona Health called out the industry’s current practice for menopausal women.
Speaking at the Association of Medical Insurers and Intermediaries (AMII) Health and Wellbeing Summit, Afors explained 13 million women in the UK are peri or post-menopausal – equivalent to a third of the entire female population – and one billion women globally will be affected by menopause by 2025.
She added that as people live longer a third of a woman’s life will be spent in menopause and while some women will deal with its effects quite well, the vast majority will have severe symptoms.
When asked which insurer was performing well in terms of its provision for tackling menopause, Afors said she felt current services on offer were not “up to scratch”.
“It is felt that if you have a symptom or a hot flush for example, maybe you’ve got a thyroid disorder so then you end up seeing an endocrinologist but it’s not really a clear pathway for menopause,” she said.
“That’s the problem and to my mind none of the insurance companies have got a pathway.
“From a clinician perspective, it would be lovely to have, whether that’s privately or on the NHS, something to be able give a patient to say why don’t you have a look at this?
“Maybe there’s a little bit of a disconnect of communication between the insurance companies and the clinicians and if there is a smooth way of integrating that, that would ultimately be better for the patient care and outcomes.”