Care of the LGBTQI Patients and Their Families: Policies, Procedures, Practices, and Laws

• The healthcare industry assumes patients are heterosexual and therefore patient care is based on that assumption which can negatively impact the quality of patient care for LGBTQI patients.
• There is confusion as to what the acronym – LGBTQI represents – this webinar will cover what the acronym represents.
• Many healthcare professionals have negative viewpoints of people who identify as LGBTQI.
• These negative attitudes are transferred into unprofessional and abusive healthcare for LGBTQI patients.
• As a result, some LGBTQI patients receive substandard care which can lead to longer hospital stays and readmissions, and an increase in morbidity.
• The first lawsuit has been filed under the Affordable Care Act in which a transgender male was treated abusively in the ER.
• The financial incentive for healthcare organizations is to create and implement a comprehensive care plan for all LGBTQI patients and to establish a community outreach program for LGBTQI community members.
• By creating a strategy to care for LGBTQI patients, the organization is not only ensuring quality patient care but also diminishing the likelihood of a lawsuit.

• To list relevant laws, regulations, and standards required for health equity and patient-centered care of LGBTQI patients.
• To create strategic LGBTQI initiatives to minimize liability based on civil rights laws and the ACA.
• To identify key policy, procedure, and practice issues related to LGBTQI patients and their families to incorporate into already existing policies, procedures, and practices.
• To discuss opportunities to collect LGBTQI–relevant data and information during the healthcare encounter.
• To identify or revise strategic community outreach efforts to the LGBTQI population.
• To name a variety of resources for LGBTQI patients, health professionals, and healthcare organizations.

• The Joint Commission’s checklist for provision of care and service for LGBTQI patients and families.
• Checklist for engaging patients, families, and community members in meeting the needs of the LGBTQI community.
• Checklist for data collection.
• Recommended list of resources for health professionals.
• In-depth discussion of laws and regulations healthcare organizations must adhere to.

Whether your employer is a clinic, a hospital, home health, or long-term care; whether you are an MD, RN, occupational therapist, a receptionist, or in the C-Suite, approximately 5% - 10% of your patients may be gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Additional patients may be transgender, intersex, or questioning their gender identity or sexual orientation. The healthcare needs of LGBTQI patients may appear to be the same as other patients, but institutionalized heterosexism in healthcare is a real barrier to quality care. Healthcare providers acknowledge they are serving more LGBTQI patients, and that they want to provide quality LGBTQI care, but aren’t sure how to best create and implement the policies, procedures, and practices to ensure best patient outcomes.

LGBTQI patients face a multitude of barriers to equitable care such as refusals of care, delayed or substandard care, mistreatment, inequitable policies and practices, end-of-life issues, and limits on visitation. The challenges begin from the beginning of the health professionals’ relationship with their LGBTQI patients—starting from asking them to identify if they are male or female, married or single, on their intake form.

Hospital, long-term care, clinic, public health, home health, hospice, and other healthcare institution Administrators; Medical Directors; Physicians; Chief Nursing Officer/VP of Nursing; Nurses; Quality Improvement Director; Risk Management; Directors of the patient care services such as nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy; Clinicians; Healthcare organization admissions Director and staff.