Clinicians Must Prepare to Care for Transgender Patients, Guidance Available

​Clinicians can access several reliable sources to prepare themselves to care for transgender patients, suggests an article published November 3, 2015, in theJournal of the American Medical Association. According to the article, primary care providers may be well positioned as a source of "whole person" care for transgender patients, who are at increased risk of HIV infection in male-to-female transgender patients, as well as high rates of violence, suicide, and substance abuse. One survey estimates that roughly 700,000 people, or 0.3% of the U.S. population, identify as transgender and another found that roughly half of transgender patients have been refused medical care, verbally harassed in a medical office, or physically assaulted when seeking care. Some providers refuse to treat transgender patients because they do not know how to care for them.