Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits of allowing men who require Hormone Replacement Therapy in the form of testosterone to be added to the HRT Prescription Prepayment Certificate.

The hormone replacement therapy prescription prepayment certificate (HRT PPC) was introduced to support women in accessing hormone replacement therapy medicines on the National Health Service as part of their care during menopause. The equalities impact assessment is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hormone-replacement-therapy-prescription-prepayment-certificate-equality-impact-assessment/introducing-the-hrt-ppc-equality-impact-assessment#:~:text=The%20policy%20intention%20is%20that,benefit%20from%20the%20HRT%20PPC%20

Testosterone products are not in scope for the HRT PPC because, even though they can be used "off-label" to treat menopause symptoms, they are not licensed for this purpose. No United Kingdom licensed testosterone products for the treatment of menopause symptoms have been launched in the UK.

Anyone can purchase the HRT PPC if they feel that it is the most appropriate product for them. The three-month or 12-month PPC, which cover all medicines prescribed on the NHS, may be more appropriate for patients who are prescribed medicines not covered by the HRT PPC.