How to improve care for LGBT patients

A new paper outlines several "minor but effective" changes physicians can make in their practice to improve the comfort and health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients. The piece, published in the current issue of The Health Care Manager, reminds practitioners of their role to "act as guide, protector, and confidant to their patients' most vulnerable healthcare concerns." Thus, it provides a roadmap for physicians to assess their own beliefs and practice habits in order to ensure a supportive environment for these patients, who are often at risk for feeling scrutinized or stigmatized when receiving healthcare.

Specific recommendations from lead author Dr. Joshua Coren, a family physician at the UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine, and colleagues include:

• Expand gender identification and relationship preference categories to include options for transgender and bisexual patients
• Instruct employees to use gender-neutral terminology
• Train clinical staff on surgical modification procedures
  
• Make LGBT publications available in the waiting room
• Increase physician knowledge of community-based resources, such as LGBT-specific cancer support groups or mental health practitioners
• Provide at least one unisex restroom

In Oregon, a state where 3 percent of females and 2 percent of males identify as gay, bisexual or lesbian, community healthcare officials shared with the Oregonian the state's successes and struggles in easing healthcare disparities for this population, noting that rural communities lag metropolitan areas in providing LBGT resources to patients and providers.

Nonetheless, more rural counties are working to address access and equity barriers. For example, last month, Benton County Health Department offered transgender health training in Corvallis for its staff and will do a similar session in March with medical professionals in the 82,600-person county.

The training in Benton County took a year because of lack of funding, noted Tatiana Dierwechter, Benton County health promotions program manager, adding that it was just a first step. "If we can train and support our clinicians to do a better job, we hope that has a ripple effect on the rest of the medical community as well, not to mention the people who are their patients," she told the newspaper.

To learn more:
- read the release from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
- see the abstract from The Health Care Manager
- see this piece in the Oregonian

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