The UK has the largest female health gap across all G20 nations. As a result, many women have to contend with wait times of over 12 months to see a menopause specialist. Bia Care is the first digital health startup to partner with the NHS on tackling this issue, with early results showing that Bia Care’s service model delivers clinically effective services at a fraction of the cost of traditional menopause clinics.
The UK’s female health gap is particularly pronounced during menopause, when a majority of women cannot access specialist care. The impact of delays and inaccessible services on women’s lives is well documented, with 1 in 5 women leaving their employment due to poorly managed menopause symptoms.
The NHS is actively looking for new approaches for delivering menopause care, including a reclassification of some menopause medication to make it available over-the-counter. However, Bia Care offers a solution to the problem of an excess of women wanting personal appointments with a limited number of specialists.
Fixing a problem
Founded in London in 2020 by Dr David Huang and Fernanda Dobal, Bia Care connects women to menopause specialist doctors using group consultations of up to six patients, improving the doctor to patient ratio. Utilising video communication technology, local patients have access to a menopause specialist doctor within 7 days of being referred to the service, and receive a bespoke treatment plan clinically proven to improve menopause symptoms.
Fernanda Dobal, CEO and Co-founder of Bia Care, commented on the additional funding, saying that Bia Care is “so excited to be expanding the partnership with the NHS following the successful pilot in 2021. The funding is going to be used to expand our service to 100 more NHS patients. We know that by partnering with the NHS we can help transform many women’s lives for the better to help them manage and reduce symptoms.”
Bia Care are delivering their menopause service in partnership with NHS Primary Care Networks from 1st April 2022.