• A
  • |
  • A
  • Text size

Create an GLBT-Friendly Practice

Is your practice listed in the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA) Provider Directory?

GLMA is the national leader in GLBT health issues, and their GLMA Provider Directory is a free-to-the-public listing of GLBT-friendly practices in the US. Many GLBT patients looking for quality care free of discrimination choose their healthcare provider based on word-of-mouth recommendations and directories of known GLBT-friendly physicians. Search for your practice in this directory to make sure that GLBT patients looking for a friendly medical environment know they can come to your practice for quality care. If your practice isn’t listed, follow the steps to create a free Provider Directory listing.

How did your healthcare facility measure up in the 2012 Healthcare Equality Index?

The Healthcare Equality Index (created by the Human Rights Campaign) measures how equitably healthcare facilities in the United States treat their GLBT patients and employees. See how your facility is rated, and sign up to participate if your facility is not already.

Provide a welcoming environment for GLBT patients

There are simple and effective ways to make your healthcare environment visibly more comfortable and friendly for GLBT patients. “Guidelines of Care For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Patients,” created by the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, provides helpful tips that can be quickly implemented to improve your practice’s appearance to GLBT patients.

Read up on recommended standards of practice with GLBT patients

The GLBT Health Access Project, part of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, has produced, “Community Standards of Practice for the Provision of Quality Health Care Services to LGBT Clients”, a set of recommendations designed to “improve GLBT access to quality care and to assist clinicians and their facilities in creating responsive environments.”

Handout: Sample new patient intake form

The Fenway Institute, part of Fenway Health, is one of the national leaders in GLBT health awareness and outreach. Take a look at the more comprehensive Sample New Patient Intake Form that they recommend for use with GLBT patients and see how it compares to what your practice currently uses.

Podcast: “Expanding into the Gay and Lesbian Market: What Savvy Medical Practices Know”

Listen here. From the Journal of Medical Practice Management comes an informative, half-hour long discussion with Ellen Kahn, Director of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Family Project. The interview is lively and contains concrete examples of how to customize your practice to become more GLBT-friendly.