At your visit you will not be asked to change into a medical gown or have an exam, unless you request an exam for a particular concern. Other testing, such as for pregnancy, sexually transmitted infection, and cervical cancer screening, are available but are not required.
A clinician will work with you to determine a hormone prescription plan (types of medications and route of administration) to best meet your needs. In most cases your clinician will be able to send a prescription to your pharmacy the same day as your visit. A letter from a mental health provider is not required.
A typical initial visit will likely take 1-2 hours. Follow-up visits are generally shorter.
If you are starting hormone therapy, in your first year of care, you should plan for 4 visits, with blood work:
- your first appointment,
- a 3-month follow-up,
- a 6-month follow-up, and
- a 12-month follow-up.
Frequency of visits may change based on your medical history, your medications, and the results of your blood tests. Repeat blood work is usually recommended 3 months after medication dose adjustments. After the first year of hormone use, most patients are seen and have blood work annually.
We use the MyChart patient portal as our preferred route of communicating with patients regarding lab results.