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Review of Medical, Socioeconomic, and Systemic Barriers to Transgender Care

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Transgender Medicine

Part of the book series: Contemporary Endocrinology ((COE))

Abstract

Transgender individuals face many barriers to accessing medical care. In this chapter, we review the major barriers to health care faced by transgender patients in three parts: First, issues within health care that encompass gaps in medical education, physician knowledge and competencies, and innovations in medical curricula. Second, socioeconomic considerations of the impact of age, race, and ethnicity on access to care. Lastly, we cover systemic barriers in the form of both state and federal insurance coverage of transgender patients and challenges in data collection. While health disparities in the LGB and transgender population persist, it remains important to identify and target the major barriers, as well as consider future steps to be taken.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, Mount Sinai Health System and Icahn School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Joshua D. Safer

  2. Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Kelly J. Chan

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  1. Joshua D. Safer
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  2. Kelly J. Chan
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Correspondence to Joshua D. Safer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Friedman Transgender Health and Wellness Program, Division of Endocrinology, Lenox Hill Hospital, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, New York, NY, USA

    Leonid Poretsky

  2. Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Wylie C. Hembree

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Safer, J.D., Chan, K.J. (2019). Review of Medical, Socioeconomic, and Systemic Barriers to Transgender Care. In: Poretsky, L., Hembree, W. (eds) Transgender Medicine. Contemporary Endocrinology. Humana Press, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05683-4_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05683-4_2

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