Over the last 10 years, society has become more aware and accepting of LGBTQ+ individuals, but this progress has been disproportionate among the identities. Among members of the LGBTQ+ community, 66% acknowledge there is more acceptance of transgender individuals today than 10 years ago, yet only 13% agree that transgender individuals currently experience a great deal or fair amount of social acceptance.1
The tension between increased education and social inertia is particularly evident in health care, where transgender and gender-diverse patients often do not receive respectful, affirming treatment.
Now more than ever, pharmacists participate in direct patient care that gives them the opportunity to serve as both medication experts and supportive allies for transgender and gender-diverse patients. To explore the impact pharmacists can make in delivering gender-affirming care, researchers at the Pride Health Center within NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue constructed a pharmacist-led collaborative drug therapy management (CDTM) program. This CDTM allowed a board-certified ambulatory care pharmacist to independently initiate and titrate gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), provide HIV prevention and sexually transmitted infection (STI) care, and manage comorbid chronic diseases.2
Program Outcomes and Patient Satisfaction
The CDTM program enrolled 70 patients, who completed a total of 223 pharmacist visits. The pharmacist documented 573 interventions, most commonly medication education (n = 107) and GAHT initiation (n = 76). Patient satisfaction was exceptionally high, with 95% of survey respondents strongly agreeing they were pleased with the service and 93% strongly agreeing they would return for another visit. Most notably, all 58 respondents (100%) reported feeling respected and supported by their pharmacist and were comfortable discussing their gender identity.2
