Auckland GP charges $300 for menopause consultation, patient upset

An Auckland woman was told a "menopause consultation" would cost $300 after asking her GP about hormone replacement therapy. Photo / Kzenon

By Checkpoint, RNZ

An Auckland woman facing a charge of $300 for a so-called “menopause consultation” says she feels denied the medical care she needs.

Carla asked her doctor about hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and said she was shocked by the fee.

She was told she either needed to pay or book up to four regular appointments.

“I mentioned I was keen to hop on HRT and she told me that I would need to make a separate appointment and ‘I was like, that’s cool, totally fine’,” she said.

“She then proceeded to tell me about the menopause clinics that they run and that is three back-to-back appointments at a cost of $300. And the math just didn’t math to me ... because each appointment is $70, so 70 times three is not $300, so I didn’t really understand how any of it made any sense.”

Carla told Checkpoint she knew of others prescribed HRT under much simpler circumstances.

“When I said I couldn’t afford that, I was told that I would then need to make three to four separate appointments to be prescribed HRT,” she said.

“It was just the fact that everyone else I know had been prescribed HRT with just a single appointment. I didn’t understand what all the fuss was about.”

Carla said a friend of hers had been prescribed by the same doctor late last year and had a single consultation.

She said the experience left her feeling “really diminished”.

Carla had considered finding a new GP but said leaving her practice of more than 30 years would be daunting.

She accepted if a doctor had concerns that would warrant a couple of appointments, but she said a single appointment should be standard practice.

“That’s not a problem at all, if it’s necessary. But I just don’t like this ... it just feels money hungry to me,” she said.

Carla said she felt taken advantage of.

“Just the math not mathing with needing three back-to-back appointments and the costs being elevated because it’s a menopause appointment,” she said.

“I thought in a normal 15-minute consultation with a $70 fee, you got the doctor’s expertise. That’s what you were buying for that.”

Royal NZ College of GPs medical director Luke Bradford said an in-depth menopause assessment does take longer than the standard 15-minute appointment and many patients benefit from spending extra time discussing their options with their GP.

He said the cost for non-standard appointments like this varies across practices.

“There are dedicated menopause clinics around NZ that typically charge $290 for an initial 45-minute appointment and $120 [for a] follow-up,” he said.

Checkpoint has asked Carla’s medical practice and Health NZ for comment.

– RNZ