This article is a collaboration between 51˶ and:
A new app developed by the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) helps clinicians better sort out treatment options for their menopause patients.
The MenoPro app has two modes -- one for patients, one for physicians. The clinician-facing side features a risk assessment algorithm that helps doctors pick the best treatment for individual patients, according to , chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and a past president of NAMS.
The algorithm can also take patient preference into account, Manson said.
"It helps clinicians and patients work together to personalize treatment decisions based on the patient's personal preferences -- e.g., for hormonal versus nonhormonal options -- and risk factor status," Manson said in an email to 51˶.
She added that it will not have ads and was developed without any industry support. It is currently designed for the iPhone and the iPad and is expected to launch by late October, pending final approval by Apple.
The app walks clinicians through several questions to determine optimal treatment, asking about patient age, symptoms, and cardiovascular risk factors.
Results are translated into a 10-year cardiovascular risk score and recommendations for therapy. Those recommendations can be emailed directly to both the patient and provider.
Manson said the app also includes links to risk calculators for breast cancer and osteoporosis, as well as educational materials from NAMS for both patients and physicians.
That literature includes brochures on behavioral and lifestyle modifications to reduce hot flashes, the pros and cons of hormonal and nonhormonal options, the pros and cons of oral versus transdermal therapy, options for treatment of vaginal dryness and pain with sexual activities, medication dosing tables, and contraindications and cautions, Manson said.
"The app provides information about lifestyle/behavioral changes to manage hot flashes and encourages trying them for at least 3 months before exploring any medication-related approaches," Manson said. "If a woman does not have an adequate response to lifestyle modifications and avoiding personal 'triggers' of her symptoms, the algorithm and app give equal weight to hormonal and nonhormonal options, depending on a woman's personal preference and her risk factor status."
She added that the app has "extensive discussion of the nonhormonal options" and it "clearly distinguishes those that are FDA approved for treatment of menopausal symptoms."
Manson acknowledged that the treatment landscape for menopausal symptoms has "grown markedly in recent years" and the app is intended to help doctors and their patients navigate that landscape.
Margery Gass, MD, executive director of NAMS, said in a statement that the landscape can make "many women feel overwhelmed, but this new app is designed to streamline the decision-making process and encourages patients to communicate and work together with their clinicians to identify a personalized treatment path."