Whether your employer is a clinic, a hospital, home health, or long term care; whether you are an MD, RN, an 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 LGBT patients may appear to be the same as other patients’, but institutionalized hetero sexism in healthcare is a real barrier to quality care. Healthcare providers acknowledge they are serving more LGBT patients, and that they want to provide quality LGBT care, but aren’t sure how to best create and implement the policies, procedures, and practices to ensure best patient outcomes. LGBT 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 limitations on visitation. The challenges begin from the beginning of the health professionals’ relationship with their LGBT patient—starting from asking them to identify if they are male or female, married or single, on their intake form.

Learning Objectives

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

Areas Covered

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

Who Should Attend

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.

Why Should You Attend

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