Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)
- The UK's independent regulator of advertising.
- Bioidentical hormones
- Hormones with the same chemical structure as those the body makes; also used as a marketing term.
- British Menopause Society (BMS)
- The UK specialist society that guides healthcare professionals on menopause care.
- CAP Code
- The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing, written by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and enforced by the ASA.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Compounded bioidentical HRT (cBHRT)
- Hormone products mixed by a specialist pharmacy for an individual, without the testing and licensing regulated medicines go through.
- Data Protection Act 2018
- The UK law that sits alongside the UK General Data Protection Regulation and governs the use of personal data.
- Dehydroepiandrosterone
- An adrenal hormone sometimes included in compounded products.
- Duty of candour
- The legal duty to be open and honest with a patient when something goes wrong with their care.
- Endometrial hyperplasia
- Abnormal thickening of the womb lining, which can lead to cancer.
- Equality Act 2010
- The law protecting people from discrimination, including because of sex and gender reassignment.
- General Medical Council (GMC)
- The body that registers and regulates doctors in the UK.
- General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
- The body that registers and regulates pharmacists and pharmacies in Great Britain.
- General practitioner (GP)
- A community doctor who usually holds the patient's main medical record.
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
- The regulations setting the fundamental standards registered providers must meet, enforced by the CQC.
- Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
- Medicines replacing the hormones, mainly oestrogen, that fall at the menopause, usually with a progestogen for patients with a womb.
- Human Medicines Regulations 2012
- The main UK law on licensing, supplying, prescribing and advertising medicines.
- International Menopause Society (IMS)
- An international society publishing recommendations on menopause care.
- Levonorgestrel intrauterine system (LNG-IUS)
- A device in the womb releasing a progestogen; the 52 mg device can protect the womb lining during HRT.
- Mental Capacity Act 2005
- The law on assessing whether a person can make a decision and acting if they cannot.
- Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
- The UK government agency that regulates medicines and medical devices.
- MHRA Blue Guide Appendix 6
- MHRA guidance on how clinics can promote their services without advertising prescription-only medicines.
- Micronised progesterone
- A licensed progesterone identical to the body's own, used to protect the womb lining.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
- The body publishing national evidence-based health and care guidance in England; NG23 is its menopause guideline.
- Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
- The body that registers and regulates nurses and midwives in the UK.
- Oestradiol
- The main natural oestrogen, used in body identical HRT.
- Pellet implant
- A hormone pellet placed under the skin that releases hormone over months.
- Prescription-only medicine (POM)
- A medicine supplied only on prescription that cannot be advertised to the public.
- Progestogen
- A natural or synthetic hormone acting like progesterone that protects the womb lining.
- Records Management Code of Practice (2023)
- Official guidance on how long health and care records are kept and how they are managed.
- Regulated bioidentical HRT (rBHRT) or body identical HRT
- Licensed hormones identical in structure to the body's own and authorised by the MHRA.
- Regulation 167
- The rule allowing an unlicensed medicine to be supplied for an individual patient's special clinical needs.
- Regulation 284
- The rule banning advertising likely to lead to the use of a prescription-only medicine.
- Special (unlicensed medicine)
- A medicine without a UK licence, made or imported for an individual patient's need.
- Transvaginal ultrasound
- An internal scan that measures the thickness of the womb lining.
- UK General Data Protection Regulation
- The UK's main law on collecting and using personal information.
- Unopposed oestrogen
- Oestrogen taken without enough progestogen by someone with a womb, raising the risk of womb lining thickening and cancer.
- Yellow Card scheme
- The MHRA system for reporting suspected side effects of medicines, including unlicensed ones, and suspected fake or defective products.