Why It’s Important to Stick to One Health Professional While you are Going Through Menopause

Each individual menopause journey can bring its fair share of challenges, surprises, and complications – and for women entering into this vulnerable life phase, finding key support from a trusted health professional is crucial.

Menopause is an extremely intimate experience, with all kinds of physiological, mental, and emotional changes disrupting your personal status quo on a fluctuating basis. One way you can reduce the impact of these changes is to find a health professional with whom you feel safe, comfortable, and heard, allowing you to create an ongoing relationship that can remain with you throughout every change menopause is likely to bring with it. 

Here are five reasons why it’s important to receive care from a primary health professional while you’re in the midst of menopause.

1. You’re more likely to develop a trusting relationship

As menopause is such a deeply personal experience, building a trusting relationship with your healthcare provider is integral to being able to communicate openly and effectively. Just as your personal relationships can play a key supportive role throughout your menopausal experience, the cultivation of a safe relationship with your healthcare professional can become one of the major sources of support throughout each phase of menopause.

‘Trust in health professionals is important because health and healthcare in general involves an element of uncertainty and risk for the vulnerable patient who is reliant on the competencies and intentions of their clinicians,’ states a 2019 report for Monash Health. ‘Trust and quality of care go hand-in-hand, with trust seen as a more appropriate indicator of acceptability and quality of health care than patient satisfaction.’

2. Your healthcare provider will have a more detailed understanding of your health history

As each menopause experience is going to be unique to circumstances, health considerations, and individual factors, it’s crucial that your healthcare provider is able to develop a detailed understanding of your health history. This health professional is then able to identify patterns, evaluate nuances within your symptoms, and consider your menopausal experience within a wider context of your overall physical health status.

If you’re moving from care provider to care provider every few months, it may be more difficult for them to build a holistic picture of your menopausal experience, relying on a less thorough understanding of your symptoms. 

Empowering menopause treatment isn’t just about finding treatments for symptoms, but about understanding the needs and experiences of the individual as a whole. A health professional who’s familiar with your history can provide customised treatments that not only address any present concerns, but also consider prior experiences, anticipating likely side effects or challenges that may be missed by someone who’s not as familiar with your medical history.

Looking for expert healthcare support throughout menopause? Contact the Australian Menopause Centre to learn more! 
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3. Efficient communication can enable greater care outcomes

Effective, transparent communication with your healthcare provider is one of the key factors that can contribute to a higher quality of menopausal care. For women who are uncomfortable discussing their menopause symptoms with their doctors, this can make a complicated, emotional time even more difficult. 

Consistently communicating with the same health professional can help to reduce some of the potential communication issues you may face with seeing a new healthcare provider each time a symptom changes. Over time, this can help to build comfort and familiarity, opening the door for the kinds of intimate conversations that are common to most menopausal healthcare experiences. 

During seasons of intense change, such as menopause, the ability to streamline communication is invaluable. This efficient communication also helps to promote greater clarity, drawing on your established relationship to reduce the risk of misinterpretation.

‘Skillful communication is essential to health care,’ advises Tulane University. ‘Clear, honest communication between patient and provider paves the way for accurate diagnoses and treatment decisions. Providers can help patients feel heard, ease their fears, and encourage them to disclose relevant information.’ 

By finding a healthcare provider whom you’re comfortable with and building an ongoing relationship with, your menopausal treatment stands to benefit through the power of easy and open communication.

4. An ongoing healthcare provider relationship allows for more streamlined adjustments to your treatment plan

As menopause symptoms can fluctuate and change significantly over time, it’s common for treatment plans to require adjustments in response to these experiences. Working closely with your healthcare provider can streamline the process of making adjustments to your treatment plan, making sure it continues to align with your individual menopause experience and associated treatment needs. 

As some forms of menopause treatment can bring their own side effects, consistent monitoring from a single health professional also enables a higher quality of care, carefully reviewing any patterns or variations that can speak to how your body is reacting to your individual treatment plan. 

5. You can avoid redundant, repetitive tests and procedures

Let’s face it – even with the Australian Medicare system and private health coverage options, medical tests and procedures can quickly add up. 

It’s important to follow your healthcare professional’s advice and undergo any recommended tests, checks or procedures throughout menopause, but if you’re constantly moving between doctors, you may find that these will need to be repeated. This can have a significant impact on your time, energy, and finances, creating redundancies between multiple tests.

By remaining with your primary care provider, you can remove the risk of undergoing the same test multiple times, making sure there’s consistency in data access and clarity in how those results are evaluated.

Conclusion

While many elements of your day-to-day world may change throughout menopause, the constant, trustworthy and reliable support you receive throughout the process doesn’t need to be one of them. At the Australian Menopause Centre, we provide women across Australia with the highest quality of menopause care and treatment pathways. Not only do our doctors advise on the most appropriate treatment options for you, but regular follow-ups and monitoring by our caring team make sure that your health and wellbeing are prioritised in every step of your menopause transition. If you’re looking to find the highest quality of ongoing care throughout menopause, reach out to our team today for an obligation-free initial consultation.