On Tuesday 18 June 2024, two Australasian Menopause Society (AMS) board members, delivered a presentation on the Senate Inquiry on ‘Issues related to perimenopause and menopause.’ Dr Marita Long and Dr Christina Jang spoke at length about the need for greater education through the community, specifically for GPs and other health professionals.

Dr Jang said, “We need to educate all women and health care professionals about perimenopause and menopause and its long-term health implications.”

Dr Jang continued, “We need to guarantee training is evidence-based and free from commercial and industry influence. It is vital that menopause is not monetised and is not exploited by commercial interest.”

AMS is calling on the Government to give consumers better access to medication by subsidising more treatments through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. This initiative would encourage women to steer away from unproven and unregulated remedies, and instead support their access to safe and effective treatment options.

Dr Long said, “It would be beneficial make sure all medical professionals receive training and education around menopause, as every woman has a different menopause experience. Then they need the time to treat their patients as individuals. Menopause treatment cannot be carried out in a 15-minute consultation.”

Dr Long stated, “It will behove the Government to audit undergraduate degrees and training programs and to see what is being taught so we stop playing catch-up on menopause and its related issues.”

AMS is urging the Government to support the provision of educational modules and programs to upskill healthcare professionals, including allied health and nursing staff. These modules must be universally available and accessible to support all healthcare professionals to clinical best practices.

Dr Jang and Dr Long then fielded a series of questions. These included questions relating to training, difficulties upskilling healthcare professionals and the availability of AMS resources in a variety of languages.

Dr Jang concluded, “It’s time to make sure that health professionals and communities are trained and aware of menopause, using evidence-based statistics and training. We need to guarantee medication is appropriately supplied for the benefit of all women.”

~Ends~

To talk to Dr Christina Jang or Dr Marita Long, please contact Geoff Setty (AMS Communications Advisor) on 0416 007 197.

20 June 2024