Frequently Asked Questions About Restore

Q: Why use the Restore^® program at Women's Health America for hormone therapy?
A: For more than a decade, Restore has been providing the very type of individualized, low-dose hormone therapy and monitoring of outcomes that is now recommended by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Through baseline hormone and bone loss testing and individualized prescriptions that use only bioidentical hormones like the ones your body produces, Restore helps assure prescriptions deliver replacement hormones in exactly the amount needed and helps avoid the side effects associated with over- or under-dosing. Restore is the only program of its kind that also provides free follow-up hormone and bone loss testing to monitor outcomes. 

Q: What is the difference between saliva testing and serum (blood) testing?
A: Saliva tests measure "free" hormones (2-5% of the hormones in a person’s body), which are the hormones that are bioavailable to stimulate receptor cells and carry out the tasks they are designed to perform. In contrast, serum testing generally measures the "total" hormones, which includes those hormones already bound to protein and unavailable for the cells to use.

Q: How do patients get their hormone levels tested through saliva?
A: The patient’s Healthcare Provider initiates the process by completing and signing the Restore enrollment form and faxing it to us or by completing our online enrollment form at RestoreDirect.com. An easy to use test kit is sent to the patient with complete instructions for collecting saliva samples in the privacy of his or her home and returning the samples to our lab for analysis. Results are returned to the Healthcare Provider

Q: Why does Restore include NTx urine testing to determine bone loss?

A: Osteoporosis is an important concern for post-menopausal women. Our NTx urine test is able to quickly measure rate of bone loss, showing changes within three months instead of the two years generally required for sequential bone densitometry (BMD) measurements. This is a distinct advantage that allows early intervention through adjustment of hormone therapy to help prevent irreversible bone loss. Our urine test accurately measures the NTx molecule (cross-linked N-telopeptides), a biochemical marker of bone metabolism.

Q: Does an MD have to enroll a patient in the Restore program?
A: No. Any Healthcare Provider who can order lab testing can order Restore.

Q: What if a patient is already using hormone therapy?

A: For patients already using hormone therapy, there are two Restore testing options. If immediate and/or selective testing is desired for a hormone therapy patient, Restore Select allows providers to pick and choose which hormone levels to measure and order those individual tests. Thereafter, Restore Select patients receive free annual follow-up hormone and NTx bone loss testing. The only requirement is that the patient has his or her hormone therapy prescription(s) filled by Madison Pharmacy Associates on a continual basis. 

For those patients who simply wish to have follow-up testing, What’s My Level? provides free annual follow-up hormone and NTx bone loss testing for patients who have their hormone therapy prescriptions filled by Madison Pharmacy Associates on a continual basis. Prescriptions must be filled by Madison Pharmacy Associates for at least three months before patients are eligible for this program.

Q: Why choose Restore or Restore Select over a Restore BioBalance Personal Hormone Assessment?

A: The Restore and Restore Select programs are the most cost-effective for the patient and are more informative for the practitioner because both offer interpretation, prescription suggestions and free follow-up tests when hormone prescriptions are filled through Madison Pharmacy Associates. Restore BioBalance Personal Hormone Assessments provide patients with test results only with no interpretations, recommendations or follow-up.

Q: How soon will results be ready?
A: Results take approximately 3 weeks, once our laboratory receives your samples. Results will be faxed directly to the Healthcare Provider or can be accessed by your Provider at restoredirect.com. The patient will be contacted by Women’s Health America and asked to follow up with their Healthcare Provider to go over results and suggestions for prescription therapy.

Q: What information will the Healthcare Provider receive after the patient has tested?
A: The Healthcare Provider will receive the saliva lab results along with a letter of interpretation and prescription suggestions for natural hormone therapy compounded at Madison Pharmacy Associates. If accessing this information online at RestoreDirect.com, the Provider will also be able to view the patient’s symptoms, health, test results and prescription history.

Q: What does a Healthcare Provider do once results have been reviewed with the patient and appropriate prescription therapy has been determined?

A: The Healthcare Provider can fax us at 888-898-7412 with the patient’s prescription(s), call our pharmacists at 800-558-7046 or enter the prescription(s) online at RestoreDirect.com. Our customer service representatives will follow-up by contacting the patient for shipping, billing and prescription insurance information.

Q: Do you have anything in writing that clinically supports the use of saliva testing?
A: Yes. A saliva bibliography is available to Healthcare Providers upon request.

Q: Will insurance cover the patient’s tests?
A: More and more insurance companies are covering saliva testing, including Medicare (Part B). Payment is obtained from the patient before the test kit is sent and information is included for the patient to submit to his or her medical insurance for possible reimbursement.

Q: How does this program benefit the Healthcare Provider and the patient in the long run?
A: Our Restore hormone therapy specialists provide ongoing case management and consultations to assist in achieving and maintaining optimal outcomes. Therapy outcomes are monitored on an ongoing basis using Restore’s free follow-up testing, which is administered for as long as the patient has hormone prescriptions filled through Madison Pharmacy Associates.