The Senate's First Menopause Hearing: What It Means for Clinics Building a Menopause Program

A week that put menopause care on the agenda

On September 16, 2026, the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing titled "Half the Country, Zero Hearings: Meeting the Moment to End the Menopause Care Gap in America." It was the first congressional hearing dedicated to menopause. The next day, the FDA held a public meeting on testosterone use in menopausal women.

For clinics that care for women in midlife, and for telehealth programs thinking about adding menopause care, the week was a signal worth noticing. Here is what was discussed, and what it means for the way a menopause program is set up.

What the hearing covered

Witnesses and senators returned to three themes:

• Research. Speakers called for more research into midlife women's health, including studies of different hormone therapy formulations and more diverse patient populations.
• Training. Many clinicians say they were never taught much about menopause. Proposed legislation, the Menopause Education for Medical Students Act, would add menopause to medical school training.
• Access. Clinician shortages, especially in rural areas, and gaps in coverage make care hard to reach for many women.

None of this changes the rules for prescribing or compounding. It does describe the environment clinics are working in: more women asking about menopause care, more clinicians building it into their practices, and more of that care delivered by telehealth.

The testosterone meeting

The September 17 public meeting looked at the current evidence and the open research questions on testosterone use in menopausal women. The agency is accepting public comments on the topic through October 19, 2026.

It is useful context for clinics: no testosterone product is approved for use in women in the United States, so a prescription for a woman is off-label, and that is the prescriber's decision to make. When a prescriber does write one, a compounding pharmacy prepares it. Our page on compounded testosterone for women explains the forms we prepare.

What a menopause program needs from its pharmacy

Whether you run a women's health practice, an OB-GYN group or a telehealth brand, the pharmacy behind your program shapes what your patients receive. A few practical questions are worth settling early.

Can the pharmacy prepare the forms your prescribers write? For menopause programs we prepare bioidentical estrogens (estradiol, estriol and Bi-Est) as a hypoallergenic cream, an olive oil base topical or a vaginal cream; progesterone and DHEA as oral capsules; and testosterone for women as a cream or an olive oil base topical. Our progesterone capsules contain no peanut oil. The commercially manufactured micronized progesterone capsule is made with peanut oil, so ours is an option when a prescriber orders progesterone for a patient with a peanut allergy. Every preparation is made for the named patient at the strength the prescriber writes. Our page for prescribing compounded estradiol covers the estradiol options in detail.

Is it licensed where your patients live? Telehealth programs often serve patients across many states, and each state licenses the pharmacy separately. ProCompounding is licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Our 50-state licensure checklist sets out what to verify with any pharmacy you consider.

How will prescriptions reach it? Most larger programs connect by direct API; others use e-prescribing or a provider portal. Our pharmacy integrations page describes all three.

Can your brand be on the package? If your patients know your brand, you may want packaging, labels and inserts that carry it. We offer white-label pharmacy fulfillment for partners who want it.

Who will your team talk to? A dedicated account manager handles onboarding and day-to-day questions, and our formula development team works with programs that want a formulation of their own.

Where ProCompounding fits

ProCompounding is a PCAB-accredited 503A compounding pharmacy in Johnson City, Tennessee, serving patients since 1936. We compound non-sterile preparations, with a 48-hour compounding time on most preparations; shipping time is additional. Our page on hormone therapy fulfillment explains how we work with clinics, and our page for OB-GYN and menopause practices covers what we prepare for them.

When your team is ready, start clinic onboarding and tell us about your program.

Compounded preparations are not reviewed or approved by the FDA for safety or efficacy. This article is general information for clinics and is not legal or medical advice.