What you were told
"You'll have to wait for a specialist."
Four steps. A Nurse Practitioner at every one.
How online menopause HRT care works for adults anywhere in Ontario, from your first appointment to your follow-ups. A Nurse Practitioner assesses you, orders your bloodwork, writes your plan and sees you at follow-up. You don't need to wait for a referral to book with us.
Most people put it off for the same few reasons.
- "I don't have a family doctor."
- "I don't know what happens at the first appointment."
- "I'll forget half of it once the appointment starts."
- "I don't want to be handed a prescription and sent off."
Fair. Here's exactly what happens, step by step.
Assessment, online
Where: from home
Your symptoms, history and medications, in your words. Have your list ready. We work down it together, the line that bothers you most first. "I lose words mid-sentence" tells the NP more than a score out of ten.
What to have ready:
- Your printed list, or the list page open on your phone
- Your medications and supplements
- Any recent bloodwork
- The date of your last period, if it applies
Bloodwork, if it helps
Where: a lab near you
Ordered when it will change a decision. You take our requisition to a local collection centre, and bloodwork is usually covered by your Ontario health card. It's the only in-person step. If a test won't change your plan, we don't order it for the sake of it, and when we do, we tell you what it's for and what it can and can't show.
Source: ontario.ca, What OHIP covers: medically necessary lab tests, including at community labs, when a nurse practitioner orders them (https://www.ontario.ca/page/what-ohip-covers).
We don't use saliva tests to set doses. The Endocrine Society says claims that saliva tests can customise hormone doses lack supporting scientific data.
Source: Endocrine Society position on compounded bioidentical hormone therapy (2019).
A plan you understand
Who: the Nurse Practitioner
Hormone therapy if it's appropriate, non-hormonal options if it isn't, and the reasons either way. Your history comes first, and nothing is prescribed on a form. You finish the visit knowing what's suggested, why, and what happens next.
There's a plan B. Non-hormonal prescription options exist for hot flashes and night sweats.
Source: SOGC Guideline No. 422a (2021).
Follow-ups
Where: from home
Check in, adjust, repeat bloodwork when it's due.
The assessment is online, from home, and so are the follow-ups. The only in-person step is bloodwork, at a lab near you.
What happens after you send the form.
- 1We call or email you back.
- 2You book the assessment.
- 3Your assessment, online. Have your list ready.
The form asks three things: which door you're coming through, your name, and how to reach you. No medical details needed there. Those wait for the assessment.
Three parts to the bill: our visits, your bloodwork, the medication. Bloodwork is usually covered by your health card. Medication is paid at the pharmacy, through a drug plan or by you.
Asked plainly
Answered plainly.
01Can I get HRT without a family doctor?
Yes. You can book with us directly.
02How do I get HRT in Ontario?
Book an assessment with a clinician who can prescribe it. A nurse practitioner can.
03Is every appointment online?
Yes. The assessment and follow-ups are online, from home. The only in-person step is bloodwork, at a lab near you, when it helps.
04Do I need to be in Ontario?
Yes. You need to be in Ontario at the time of each visit, and we confirm it at each one.
Source: College of Nurses of Ontario, Virtual Care practice guideline.
Step one is a form with three questions.
Make your list first if you like. It takes two minutes, and nothing you tick leaves your device.
Information on this site is general and isn't a diagnosis. In an emergency, call 911.