There's a Medicare item for menopause now. Most women don't know it exists.

For a long time, the way menopause got handled in general practice was badly matched to what it actually is. Women would come in with a list — sleep that's fallen apart, a body that feels unfamiliar, a brain that won't hold a word it's looking for, periods that have become unpredictable, a mood that doesn't feel like theirs — and get fifteen minutes, because fifteen minutes was the appointment that existed.

Menopause is not a fifteen-minute problem. It's a transition that can run for a decade, affects sleep, mood, bones, heart, bladder, sex and work, and it arrives at the same stage of life as teenagers, ageing parents and the busiest years of a career.

Since July 2025 there has been a Medicare item designed for it. It's called the menopause and perimenopause health assessment, and it exists specifically so your GP can spend proper time on this rather than squeezing it into the end of a consultation about something else.

What it is

It's a dedicated appointment of at least twenty minutes, for women experiencing perimenopause, menopause, early menopause, or premature ovarian insufficiency.

In that appointment your doctor should:

• take a full history — your symptoms, your cycle, your medical background, and anything that would rule certain treatments in or out

• do a basic examination, including blood pressure, height and weight

• consider what's due: cervical screening, mammogram, bone density

• talk through the options properly, both hormonal and non-hormonal

• make a plan with you for managing symptoms

• cover the preventive side — activity, alcohol, smoking, nutrition, weight

That list matters because it's the difference between here's a script and an actual assessment. The cardiovascular and bone health conversations in particular tend to get skipped, and they're the ones with consequences twenty years out.

What it isn't

It isn't a commitment to hormone therapy. Some women want it, some don't, some can't have it, and plenty of what helps in perimenopause isn't hormonal at all. The point of the appointment is that you get to have the conversation with enough time to actually weigh things up.

It also isn't only for women who are obviously in menopause. Perimenopause can start in your early forties, sometimes late thirties, and it often starts while you're still getting regular periods. If your sleep, mood or cycle has shifted and you've been wondering, that's a reasonable thing to bring in.

What to bring

If you'd like to get the most from the appointment:

• track your cycles for a couple of months if you still have them

• write down your three most bothersome symptoms, in order

• note any family history of osteoporosis, breast cancer, heart disease or blood clots

• bring a list of your current medications and supplements

• have a think about what you'd most like to be different in six months

The last one sounds soft but it's the most useful. I want to sleep through the night and I want to stop feeling flat at work lead to quite different plans.

At Remedy Medical

Menopause and perimenopause care is a special interest for Dr Ash Van Leeuwestyn, Dr Makayla Guest and Dr Emma Hardwick. We also do long-acting contraception on site — IUDs and Implanon — which matters more than people expect in perimenopause, because contraception is still needed and a hormonal IUD can do two jobs at once.

We open on Monday 2 November. When you book, ask reception for a long appointment and mention it's for menopause, so we set aside the time properly rather than discovering halfway through that we've got four minutes left.

General information only, and not advice about your own situation. Whether any particular treatment is right for you depends on your history — that's the conversation to have with your GP.