MenoPro

The MenoPro app for Menopausal Symptom Management, developed together with the North American Menopause Society (NAMS), is designed to help clinicians and women/patients work together to personalize treatment decisions based on the patient’s personal preferences (e.g., hormonal vs non-hormonal treatment options) and her medical history and risk factors. The app has two modes, one for clinicians and one for patients, to facilitate shared decision making.

The app has several unique features, including:

*two modes: one for health care providers and one for women/patients,

*calculates a 10-year cardiovascular disease risk score (heart disease and stroke) for the patient, which is important for clinical decision making about available options;

*includes links to a breast cancer risk score and to an osteoporosis/bone fracture risk assessment;

*includes NAMS’ outstanding educational materials that can be directly accessed by both the clinician and patient, including information pages on behavioral and lifestyle modifications to reduce hot flashes, pros and cons of hormonal vs non-hormonal options, pros and cons of oral (pills) vs transdermal (patches/gels/sprays) therapy, options for treatment of vaginal dryness/ pain with sexual activities; direct links to tables with the different formulations and doses of medications; as well as contraindications and cautions;

*the ability to email a summary of the decision-making process and the above information pages/handouts to the patient (women can also directly access this information via the patient mode of the app).

Menopausal symptoms vary dramatically among women. Some women have no symptoms as they go through the menopause transition, and other women find that their quality of life is severely affected by hot flashes, night-time sweats, sleep problems, difficulty concentrating, and vaginal dryness/pain with sexual activities. Menopausal symptoms are usually related to the low levels of estrogen that occur in women when they reach menopause. Some women are good candidates for hormonal treatments and others, due to their personal preferences or risk factors, are not good candidates and should consider non-hormonal options. One of the most complex health care decisions facing women in mid-life is whether to use prescription medications for menopausal symptom management, and the array of treatment options has grown markedly in recent years. This new app helps women work together with their clinicians to find the optimal treatment approach.