Complex Menopause Clinic Referral

We provide virtual and in-person care to patients with severe symptoms related to menopause from across BC.
​Our team of health care providers are Menopause Society certified practitioners (MSCP). We care for the following patients:
  • Women and gender-diverse people who experience severe symptoms related to menopause, including those who have already been assessed and treated for these symptoms by a health care provider without success
  • Those with medical conditions that might prevent them from using certain medications, like hormone therapy, for symptoms related to menopause
    • This includes people living with HIV, people with spinal cord injury, and people with premature menopause (spontaneous or iatrogenic) or primary ovarian insufficiency
We do not provide basic menopause care, which is available in the community, such as through a family doctor, nurse practitioner, urgent and primary care centre or a gynecologist in the community. 

Patients need a referral from their doctor or nurse practitioner to access this service. Patients who are under the care of an endocrinologist or gynecologist may be referred by their specialist, if needed. In this case, we will most likely want to arrange a provider-to-provider consult.

Patient eligibility

To be eligible to receive care at our clinic, patients must meet each of the criteria listed in Section A, and one or more of the criteria listed in Section B.  

Meeting clinic criteria does not guarantee that we will accept the referral. A BC Women's Hospital health care provider reviews each referral and assesses it on an individual basis. We do not accept self-referrals from patients.

Section A: the patient

  • Experiences bothersome symptoms of menopause 
  • Is currently living in BC 
  • Is assigned female at birth 

Section B: other criteria

  • Contraindications or medical co-morbidities limiting management options 
  • Premature menopause/primary ovarian insufficiency < age 40 
  • Carrier of hereditary cancer syndrome with increased risk of breast or gynecological cancer 
  • Spinal cord injury 
  • Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
  • Cancer survivor whose therapy has affected ovarian function 
  • Systemic menopausal symptoms (e.g., hot flushes, night sweats) that have not responded to usual management 
  • Genital symptoms of menopause that have not responded to usual management, without vulvar dystrophy 

Exclusion criteria

  • ​Patient does not have a care provider (medical doctor or nurse practitioner) for ongoing follow-up care
  • Very heavy, abnormal or post-menopausal bleeding not yet assessed (refer to community gynecologist)
  • Patient has already been seen by our clinic and has been discharged. In these cases, we may offer provider-to-provider consultations. Please contact the clinic directly
  • Patient is experiencing isolated concerns including but not limited to urinary incontinence, low libido, midlife weight gain, vulvar issues, or mental health issues

Referral steps 

1Complete assessment and referral form

Please include the diagnostic and lab tests below, if not available in CST:
  • Previous consultations/clinic notes regarding menopausal concerns or relevant issues
  • Ultrasound reports
  • Pap/HPV test report
  • Mammography report
  • Bone mineral density scan
  • FIT test/colonoscopy report 
Please complete the referral form (PDF) in its entirety. 

We encourage providers to include any relevant clinic notes related to menopause care. This may include detailing the treatments triall​ed and other relevant assessments.​

2Send the referral

Please submit the referral form by fax to: 604.675.2652. 

3Post referral

A BC Women's Hospital provider carefully reviews all referrals. We will send referral acknowledgement to the referring provider’s office once we have triaged the referral with an approximate wait time. 

If we accept the referral, our clinic will contact the patient directly to book an appointment. 

Providers with updates or questions about their referral are welcome to email or call our clinic directly.

4Appointment with a provider

If we accept the referral, our clinic will contact the patient directly to book an appointment.

Contact us 

Our clinic hours of service are from Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Providers with questions about their referral are welcome to email or call our clinic directly.

Address:

Entrance #77 
4th Floor, Shaughnessy Building 
Room #B432 
4500 Oak Street
Vancouver, BC
V6H 3N1 
 
Phone: 604-875-2322  
Fax: 604-675-2652​