Bridging Prescription
A bridging prescription is hormones prescribed by a GP or family doctor to someone waiting for a gender clinic, to "bridge" the gap until the specialist sees them. The term is used mostly in the UK, where waits for a first gender clinic appointment run to years.
Where you'll meet it
In UK discussions of NHS gender services, and in the conversation with a GP when you are on a long waiting list. Often it comes up because someone has already started hormones on their own, and a bridging prescription replaces self-sourced medicine with a prescribed one and blood tests.
Who decides
The GP. Some are willing, often with advice from a specialist or a private clinic; many are not, because prescribing gender-affirming hormones is outside what they are used to. UK medical guidance has at times supported bridging prescriptions in limited circumstances, mainly to reduce harm, and the position has shifted over the years. Ask your GP what their practice's current stance is, and do not be surprised if the answer is no.
The usual conditions
Where a GP agrees, it tends to come with blood tests before and during, a lowish starting dose, and an expectation that the gender clinic takes over when your appointment arrives. Gender clinics covers the waits and the alternatives.
Related pages
Not sure where to begin?
The Start Here guide covers what hormones change, how people get a prescription, what the blood tests are for and what it costs.
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