1. Investment
Keeping in mind that everyone has a different financial situation, we used the following guidelines to talk about investment:
- We compare solutions to similar options in each category (supplements, pharmaceuticals, devices, telehealth, apps, and guide).
- Costs are measured on a simple scale of low, medium, or high
- Cost often depends on prescription and/or medical insurance, so an option may be low cost to someone with insurance or an employer benefit, and high to someone who is self-insured or doesn’t have health insurance.
2. Invasiveness
Invasiveness isn’t limited to pelvic floor stimulators and hormone rings.
Keeping in mind that everyone has a different level of comfortability, we used the following guidelines to talk about invasiveness of options:
- We compare solutions to similar options in each category (supplements, pharmaceuticals, devices, telehealth, apps, and guide).
- Our scale ranks options as low, medium, or high
- We consider pills and patches worn on the skin to not be invasive, but you may only want non-hormonal options. In other words, our low risk may not be low risk to you which is why we also allow you to sort by ingredients too.
3. Indication
Sure, we could have called this category symptoms treated, but then we wouldn’t have had “the five Is of the Fuchsia Tent.”
We used the following guidelines to talk about indication for treatment options:
- Treatment options for the menopausal transition have multiple uses.
- Only FDA Approved therapies have actual indications.
- We list up to four indications for each option.
4. Ingredients
We could go heavy duty into all of the ingredients in all of the options, and we definitely get more granular in the membership portion of the site.
To keep our promise of simplicity for all, we categorize ingredients on the main site according to the following guidelines:
- Treatment options are listed as hormonal, non-hormonal or both
- Both either means we are speaking about a telehealth option that offers both hormonal and non-hormonal options or a product that combines both hormones and other ingredients.
5. Inclusivity
To honor our promise that this site is for all, we have built the following guidelines for inclusivity:
- Inclusivity is rated either low, medium, high, or very high
- Very high means most people can either afford or gain access to a solution.
- The other rankings are in relation to both investment and ease of access.
- This category is the most nuanced. If your employer has a telehealth option, care may be highly accessible to you, but for someone without that benefit, the product becomes inaccessible.