Instructor
Dr. Susan Strauss
The healthcare industry assumes patients are heterosexual and therefore patient care is based on that assumption which can negatively impact quality patient care of the LGBTQI patient.
There is confusion as to what the acronym - LGBTQI represents - this webinar will cover what the acronym represents.
Many healthcare professionals have negative viewpoints of people who identify as LGBTQI. These negative attitudes are transferred into unprofessional and abusive healthcare to LGBTQI patients.
As a result, some LGBTQI patients receive substandard care with can lead to longer hospital stays and readmissions, and an increase in morbidity.
The first lawsuit has been filed under the Affordable Care Act in which a transgender male was treated abusively in the ER.
The financial incentive for healthcare organizations is to create and implement a comprehensive care plan for all LGBTQI patients and to establish a community outreach program for LGBTQI community members.
By creating a strategy to care of LGBTQI patients, the organization is not only ensuring quality patient care but diminishing the likelihood of a lawsuit.
Associated with the issue of caring for this population is fear and doubt as to whether your organization has failed in meeting the LGBTQI patient’s quality of care. This uncertainty exists whether your employer is a clinic, a hospital, home health, or long term care; whether you are an MD, RN, an occupational therapist, a receptionist, or in the C-Suite. Approximately 5% - 10% of your patients may be gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Additional patients may be transgender, intersex, or questioning their gender identity or sexual orientation. The healthcare needs of LGBTQI patients may appear to be the same as other patients’, but institutionalized heterosexism in healthcare is a real barrier to quality care.
Healthcare providers acknowledge they are serving more LGBTQI patients, and that they want to provide quality LGBTQI care, but aren’t sure how to best create and implement the policies, procedures, and practices to ensure best patient outcomes. LGBTQI patients face a multitude of barriers to equitable care such as: refusals of care, delayed or substandard care, mistreatment, inequitable policies and practices, end-of-life issues, and limits on visitation. The challenges begin from the beginning of the health professionals’ relationship with their LGBTQI patient starting from asking them to identify if they are male or female, married or single, on their intake form.