[When is testosterone substitution a medically necessary treatment?].
The expert questioning of when a treatment with testosterone is medically necessary has increased by several 100% in the daily work of the insurance medical expert in the past years. The reason for this is that testosterone is prescribed a lot more often nowadays than it was 10 years ago. One can suspect that testosterone has become part of a popular lifestyle medication. However, the clinical meaning of the age-dependent decrease of testosterone in men is controversial. Unfortunately, there are only few study data about hypogonadism in ageing men. Testosterone treatment has a very narrow application field and is only medically necessary if the low testosterone level has been clinically proven as well as in a medical lab examination. This is decisive because testosterone treatment has numerous limitations of application and has a wide range of side effects. This article shows the controversy surrounding the discussion on testosterone treatment and the pitfalls of issuing the insurance medical expert's report.
HALLESCHE Krankenversicherung, Stuttgart.
Rainer
R
Hakimi
D000075202:Contraindications; D005104:Expert Testimony / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D020249:Hormone Replacement Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007006:Hypogonadism / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D008297:Male; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000172:deficiency / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D019564:Unnecessary Procedures
D013739:Testosterone