Opinion|Women Need Treatment for Hot Flashes. Why Is This So Hard? https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/05/opinion/estrogen-hormone-therapy-patches-shortage.html You have been granted access, use your keyboard to continue reading. Guest Essay April 5, 2026, 1:00 a.m. ET Credit...Photo illustration by Elizabeth Renstrom; source image by Picture Post/Stringer/Getty Images My first inkling that people couldn’t get their hormone medication was a phone call from a patient in December.