What is Shared Care?

Last Modified: Sep 1, 2024

Not official medical advice. Please refer to NHS resources and the links below.

Shared Care is a UK National Health Service policy where a patient can give their GP a valid prescription from a private doctor, and acquire the prescribed medication through an NHS pharmacy, without having to pay the private sector's market rate for the prescription.

For trans people in the UK, this means that in most cases, if you have a psychiatric diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria from a private psychiatrist, AND a prescription for Hormone Replacement Therapy from a private endocrinologist (a blood specialist), you can ask your GP to send your prescription for HRT to an NHS pharmacy, and you can acquire the prescription at the price you would pay for any other prescription on the NHS. Typically this is about £9 per month. If you were to buy HRT privately, it would be about £50-100 per month (But it really depends on what type of HRT it is).

If you have a Shared Care plan, your GP can arrange free blood tests for you, but you will have to pay for private endocrinology appointments to have these blood results monitored. When you get off the waiting list for a Gender Identity Clinic, the clinic will take over your endocrinology, and you won't have to pay for the appointments any more.

• British Medical Association guidance for managing patients with gender dysphoria Outlines best practices for shared care and general advice for GPs with trans patients.
• What to do if your GP refuses to offer shared care for HRT. Advice on dealing with GPs who claim they are not obliged to offer Shared Care.