{"id":22,"date":"2017-07-29T05:31:16","date_gmt":"2017-07-29T05:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/medical-centre\/?p=22"},"modified":"2017-07-29T05:36:09","modified_gmt":"2017-07-29T05:36:09","slug":"advice-on-the-management-of-the-transgender-patient-in-primary-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/medical-centre\/2017\/07\/29\/advice-on-the-management-of-the-transgender-patient-in-primary-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Advice on the management of the transgender patient in primary care"},"content":{"rendered":"

A recent article in the journal\u00a0BJGP Open<\/a>\u00a0provides advice on the management of transgender patients in primary care. With referrals to gender identity clinics rising rapidly, general practitioners (GPs) and primary care physicians are more likely to meet patients who are transgender (whose gender identity, or internal sense of gender, does not match their gender assigned at birth) or diagnosed with gender dysphoria (the severe psychological distress that is experienced by an individual as a result of the conflict between their gender identity and gender assigned at birth).1 Teaching on transgender medicine is lacking in both undergraduate and postgraduate curricula, leading to a perceived lack of expertise in this area. Furthermore, General Medical Council (GMC) guidelines on the GP\u2019s role in prescribing are vague, resulting in some controversy. As waiting times for appointments at specialist clinics are often at least 18\u2009months, GPs and primary care physicians will increasingly be involved in the initiation of the transition process: this is the process by which an individual changes their phenotypic appearance of gender to match their gender identity through medications and\/or surgery.<\/p>\n

Some of the actions advised:<\/p>\n