Clearing Misconceptions About Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender and Gender-Diverse People

Updated on Jun 25, 2024 | Diversity and Inclusion, Featured, LGBT Health, Your Health

Gender-affirming care for transgender and gender-diverse people has advanced over the past decade, but connecting patients to this care efficiently remains a challenge, hindered by a lack of awareness.

“Patients worry about what they need to know even before being able to speak to a doctor for gender-affirming care,” said Joshua Safer, MD, Executive Director of the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery at Mount Sinai.

Even health providers can be unsure of what gender-affirming care entails. Many once believed that they would have to run a series of tests before even being able to refer their transgender patients for specialized care, Dr. Safer said. “It’s a misconception that they have to do anything,” he noted. “There are some tests that they could run that would make their patients’ lives easier, but it is fine to send patients along even without those tests.”

In a conversation with his doctor, Miroslav Djordjevic, MD, Clinical Professor of Urology, patient Kyshane Rowe talks about how life has changed since he began the transition process 10 years ago, and how Mount Sinai’s Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery helped him along the way. Click here to watch the video.

As part of efforts to raise awareness about transgender care, Dr. Safer weighs in on common misconceptions about gender-affirming care and shares tips for patients and providers on how to make the experience seamless.

For patients

For providers

For patients

Seeking gender-affirming care can be overwhelming for transgender and gender-diverse patients, Dr. Safer said. With care that can stretch across multiple specialties, including endocrinology, gynecology, urology, and various surgical subspecialties, patients sometimes think they need to do a bunch of research before even speaking with a provider.

However, speaking with your primary care doctor could be part of that care journey, Dr. Safer said: “Providers can help guide patients with what they need to align their bodies with their gender identities.”  

  • It might be helpful for transgender patients to consider their fertility goals when seeking gender-affirming care. That would help outline what medical or surgical options make sense.
  • Letters of support from mental health and primary care providers are required to be eligible for gender-affirming surgery. Obtaining those letters isn’t necessarily complicated, and our Center provides templates for them.
  • Out-of-state patients seeking surgical care in New York City need to be housed within a 90-minute travel distance of the surgery office for at least two weeks. Additionally, the accommodation cannot be a walkup apartment, and a caretaker must be present to assist with cleaning and daily activities.

The Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery at Mount Sinai has set up a hotline to help patients with appointments, or even direct them to “champion providers” within the Health System—providers trained in gender-affirming care, Dr. Safer said.

For patients, click here to learn more about accessing transgender care

For providers

Gender-affirming care in a primary care setting doesn’t need to be complicated, Dr. Safer said. It is fine to refer transgender patients after initial assessments without needing a bunch of tests.

However, should the provider choose to order baseline testing for patients, it would make the patients’ care experience more convenient. Here are some typical tests a provider can consider:

There is also a misconception that because insurance companies categorize gender-affirming surgery as a treatment for gender dysphoria, patients need to be seen by a mental health provider, Dr. Safer said.

“If there are underlying mental health concerns, do refer those patients for treatment,” he noted. “But there are many transgender patients who have no mental health concerns and are merely seeking gender-affirming care.”

Providers within the Mount Sinai Health System would already be connected within the Epic system for referrals to any needed specialist, expediting the process, Dr. Safer said. For providers outside the Health System, a dedicated hotline team from the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery is there to assist, he added.

For providers, click here to learn more about connecting transgender patients to care

In Sickness and In Health: Why LGBT Health Equality Matters

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | LGBT Health, News

Guest post by Jose Sepulveda, Co-Chair, New York Eye & Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai LGBT Employee Resource Group

When Apple CEO Tim Cook came out, he said “We pave the sunlit path toward justice together, brick by brick. This is my brick.” Coming out was not going to change his life. It was not going to change my life much either, but somewhere, there was a young teen who was able to see a little more hope. These small bricks, small steps forward, help the unseen. (more…)

Hepatitis C: Promising Treatment Developments

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | LGBT Health, Men's Health, Sexual Health, Women's Health

Over the past few years, enormous strides have been made in treatment options for people living with hepatitis C, a form of viral hepatitis that causes chronic liver disease. Treatments in the past were difficult to tolerate, produced numerous side effects, and for a large percentage of patients, were often unsuccessful. Promising new drugs, however, will likely reduce the burden of treatment (the work patients do to care for themselves, such as visiting the doctor or going for medical tests), produce quicker results, and cause fewer and less profound side effects. (more…)

Worried About HIV? New Prevention Methods Offer More Options

Oct 13, 2014 | Health Tips, LGBT Health, Sexual Health

The HIV prevention landscape has changed dramatically over the last few years. In the past, most health care professionals could only support consistent use of condoms, frequent testing, and risk-reduction counseling for HIV prevention. Today, these approaches can be used in conjunction with new methods that have been developed and are now available to the public to lower risk of HIV infection. (more…)

Super Bowl Safety Tips: Festivities in Metro Area Raise Risk of Violence

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | Community Outreach, LGBT Health, Men's Health, Popular, Safety, Sexual Health, Women's Health

As many as 400,000 fans are expected to descend on the New York metropolitan region for Super Bowl XLVIII, to be held February 2 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. A full lineup of high-profile, big-ticket parties and concerts is scheduled to begin in Manhattan during Super Bowl week. Bars, clubs, concert venues and restaurants all over the tri-state area will get in on the pre-Bowl excitement as well. While such a major event will give the New York metro area a chance show its best to the nation, the influx of people, excessive drinking and drug use that accompany the biggest sporting event of the year also will bring the opportunity for increased crime and violence (including sexual violence) to those living in, working in and visiting the area.

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