World Menopause Month: Six Questions Your Clinic Will Hear About Compounded Hormones

Why October brings the questions

October is World Menopause Month, and World Menopause Day falls on October 18. It is a natural time for women to bring questions to their clinicians, and many of those questions reach the front desk or the care team before they reach a prescriber.

If your clinic prescribes compounded hormone therapy, or is thinking about adding it, here are six questions patients ask, with answers your team can give. Each answer sticks to what the pharmacy prepares. Whether a therapy is right for a patient stays with the prescriber.

1. "Can I get estriol?"

Estriol is not available as a commercially manufactured product in the United States, so a prescription for estriol is prepared by a compounding pharmacy. We prepare estriol with DHEA in a single vaginal cream, estriol vaginal cream, and Bi-Est, which is estradiol and estriol only, as an olive oil base topical. Each is made to the strength the prescriber writes.

2. "Is there a progesterone capsule without peanut oil?"

Yes. The commercially manufactured micronized progesterone capsule is made with peanut oil. Our compounded progesterone capsules contain no peanut oil, so a prescriber whose patient has a peanut allergy can order a compounded capsule instead.

3. "Can I have it in a different base?"

Often, yes. We prepare estradiol as a hypoallergenic cream, an olive oil base topical or a vaginal cream, and progesterone as an oral capsule, a hypoallergenic cream or an olive oil base topical. For patients who react to ingredients in other products, we offer dye-free and filler-free options. A pharmacist reviews every formulation before it is made.

4. "Do you make pellets or patches?"

We do not make hormone pellets, patches or injectables. When a patient cannot find her estradiol patch, her prescriber may consider a topical estradiol preparation instead, and our page on estradiol patch alternatives sets out the preparations a prescriber can order.

5. "Can you ship it to me?"

We are licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, so we can ship to patients wherever they live. We have a 48-hour compounding time on most preparations. Shipping time is additional and varies by destination.

6. "What will it cost?"

A member of our team confirms the price with the patient before anything is processed, made, or shipped, and there is always a cash option. Patients can call 423-975-0597 for current pricing and shipping options for their state.

How we work with clinics

We prepare hormone therapy for clinics and telehealth programs as a PCAB-accredited 503A pharmacy. Prescriptions come in by direct API connection, e-prescribing or our provider portal. Our page on BHRT fulfillment explains how fulfillment works, and prescribing compounded estradiol covers the estradiol preparations prescribers order.

When you are ready, you can begin clinic onboarding. Our formulary catalog is shared once onboarding is complete.

Compounded preparations are not reviewed or approved by the FDA for safety or efficacy. This article is general information for clinics and is not medical advice. Decisions about a patient's care rest with the prescriber.