{
  "id": 14548894,
  "title": "Rise in private testosterone prescribing risks overtreatment and more strain on the NHS",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/rise-in-private-testosterone-prescribing-risks-overtreatment-and-more",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-14T22:30:13.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-private-testosterone-overtreatment-strain-nhs.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The rapid expansion of private testosterone prescribing in the UK poses risks of overtreatment and added strain on the National Health Service (NHS). Experts in The BMJ warn that private providers may treat individuals with nonspecific symptoms and borderline test results, for whom the benefits and long-term risks are less certain. The complexity of care is often not addressed in commercial testing, and managing the longer-term risks of testosterone therapy is expected to fall to the NHS. Between 2020/21 and 2024/25, community dispensing in the UK increased by 52%, while testosterone gel prescriptions for women aged 50 and older in England rose tenfold between 2015 and 2022. However, the scale of private testosterone provision remains unknown due to lack of national recording. Several indicators suggest rapid growth, including the proliferation of private clinics, subscription pricing ranging from £100 to £375 monthly, and aggressive marketing through social media and outdoor advertising. Despite declining testosterone and libido being natural aspects of aging, only under 1% of men over 50 receive NHS treatment. Diagnosis is complex and time-consuming, with inconsistencies in how private providers conduct it. Ongoing monitoring of testosterone therapy may burden the NHS, as clinicians may encounter patients who have already started treatment under more permissive private thresholds. There are also concerns about private off-label testosterone prescribing for women, mainly for low libido associated with menopause. The authors stress that testosterone replacement remains valuable for carefully selected patients, but national data are needed to assess indications, monitoring, and transfers of care in private prescribing.",
  "summary": "The rapid expansion of private testosterone prescribing risks extending treatment beyond men with clearly defined need to people with nonspecific symptoms and borderline test results, for whom the balance of benefit and long-term risk is less certain, warn experts in The BMJ.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}