June 23, 2006

Caring for the "invisible patient"

As with all patient populations, there are important concerns related to providing optimum care to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender patients. To help educate the MGH community about the topic, the Patient Care Services Diversity Committee recently sponsored a presentation on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender health care.

More than 100 attendees heard from the Fenway Institute presenters Harvey J. Makadon, MD, director of Education and Professional Training, and Judith B. Bradford, PhD, co-chair and director of Lesbian Health Research. Makadon and Bradford outlined the unique concerns related to health care for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender patients, and explained the population's core clinical issues, demographics and emotional concerns. They also offered suggestions for meeting the specific health care needs of these patients. Bradford's presentation included an explanation of her innovative research methodology to study these "hidden populations." The forum ended with a question and answer period.

For more information about the presentation, contact Deborah Washington at
(617) 724-7469.

Bradford and Makadon