Needs of gay, transgender patients not adequately addressed, report says

The healthcare industry is not adequately addressing the needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender patients, says an annual report from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association. Released for the third year in a row, the Healthcare Equality Index is a national report that sets benchmarks and highlights best practices and healthcare facility policies for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.

Based on responses to an online survey conducted from October through December 2008, the report addressed patient non-discrimination and visitation policies, cultural-competency training, recognition of legal documents between same-sex partners, and the protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees through fair employment policies. Responses came from 93 hospitals and 73 clinics across the country.

According to the findings, less than 7% of facilities reporting protect patients from discrimination based on gender identity, while about 73% of participants protect these patients from discrimination based on sexual orientation. Meanwhile, 98% of the participating facilities bar employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, and 63% of those policies include “gender identity or expression” or “gender identity.” Cultural-competency training was more aligned, as 72% of participating facilities provide cultural-competency training addressing sexual orientation and healthcare issues relevant to the lesbian, gay and bisexual community, while about 70% of participating facilities provide cultural-competency training addressing gender identity and healthcare issues relevant to the transgender community.

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