Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- Biopsychosocial assessment
- Looking at physical, psychological and relationship causes, not only hormones.
- British Menopause Society (BMS)
- The United Kingdom professional society for menopause clinicians.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care in England.
- Clitoral enlargement
- Growth of the clitoris from excess androgen; may not reverse.
- Compounded medicine
- A medicine made to an individual recipe rather than a licensed, quality-tested product.
- Controlled drug (CD)
- A medicine controlled by law because it can be misused.
- Controlled Drugs Accountable Officer (CDAO)
- A senior person responsible for the safe management of controlled drugs in a designated body or area.
- Controlled Drugs Local Intelligence Network
- A local group that shares concerns about controlled drug use and misuse.
- Controlled Drugs (Supervision of Management and Use) Regulations 2013
- The law requiring designated bodies to appoint a CDAO.
- Designated body
- An organisation that must appoint a CDAO, such as an independent hospital.
- Diversion
- A medicine being used by someone other than the patient.
- Duty of candour
- The legal duty to be open with patients when a notifiable safety incident happens.
- Equality Act 2010
- The law protecting people from discrimination.
- FP10PCD
- The form for private prescriptions of Schedules 2 and 3 controlled drugs; not used for testosterone.
- General Medical Council (GMC)
- The regulator of doctors.
- General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
- The regulator of pharmacists and pharmacies in Great Britain.
- General practitioner (GP)
- The patient's family doctor.
- Genitourinary syndrome of the menopause (GSM)
- Vaginal dryness, painful sex and urinary symptoms caused by low oestrogen.
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
- The regulations setting the fundamental standards for registered providers.
- Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
- Treatment replacing oestrogen, with progestogen where needed.
- Human Medicines Regulations 2012
- The main United Kingdom law on supplying, prescribing and advertising medicines.
- Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD)
- Persistent low sexual desire causing distress, not explained by another cause.
- Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)
- A precise laboratory method preferred for measuring low testosterone levels.
- Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
- The United Kingdom regulator of medicines, which runs the Yellow Card scheme and publishes the Blue Guide on advertising.
- Mental Capacity Act 2005
- The law on assessing whether a person can make a decision.
- Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001
- The regulations placing controlled drugs in schedules with rules for each.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
- The body publishing national guidance in England; NG23 is its menopause guideline.
- Nominated Individual
- The senior person responsible to the CQC for supervising the regulated activity.
- Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
- The regulator of nurses and midwives.
- Off-label use
- Prescribing a licensed medicine outside its licence, such as a male product at a female dose.
- Prescription only medicine (POM)
- A medicine supplied only on prescription.
- Registered Manager
- The person registered with the CQC to run the service day to day.
- Schedule 4 Part 2
- The controlled drug schedule for anabolic steroids, including testosterone.
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)
- A common antidepressant that can reduce sexual desire.
- Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG)
- A blood protein that binds testosterone and reduces how much is active.
- Supraphysiological
- Higher than the body would naturally produce.
- Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE)
- Anti-doping permission to use a prohibited medicine for a medical need.
- Transdermal
- Absorbed through the skin.
- Unlicensed medicine
- A medicine with no United Kingdom licence, such as an import.
- Virilisation
- Development of masculine features such as a deeper voice.
- World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
- The body listing substances banned in sport; applied by UK Anti-Doping.
- Yellow Card scheme
- The MHRA system for reporting suspected medicine side effects.