Transgender and transsexual
individuals have unique health care needs and risks compared with the
population at large.
It is estimated that 1 in 100,000 individuals in the
United States is a transgender woman and 1 in 400,000 is a transgender man,
although these estimates of prevalence are likely conservative. Transgender
individuals are at an increased risk of tobacco, alcohol, and substance abuse;
they have an increased lifetime suicide attempt risk; and they are more likely
to experience significant stressors in their lives.
Transgender patients may
elect to transition their appearance to the gender with which they identify.
Hormone treatment (and possibly sex reassignment surgery) is a significant part
of this transition, and pharmacists must understand the pharmacotherapeutic
principles involved so they can better recommend therapeutic agents, provide
dosing recommendations, and anticipate and manage adverse effects. It is
critical to be culturally sensitive when providing care for transgender
patients including using their preferred gender identity, preferred names, and
preferred pronouns.
It is also essential to be able to identify transgender and
transsexual patients correctly within electronic health records to ensure that
appropriate care and monitoring are provided. For pharmacists, this means they
should know the biologic sex for performing calculations such as creatinine
clearance and to prevent teratogenic agents from reaching a transgender or
transsexual man who could be pregnant or is capable of becoming pregnant.
Promoting knowledge of transgender health issues will enable pharmacists to
provide better, more holistic care to their transgender patients.
Purchase full article at: http://goo.gl/BNo8ak
By: Bishop BM1.
- 1Pharmacy Practice, University of Toledo College of Pharmacy, Toledo, Ohio.
- Pharmacotherapy. 2015 Dec;35(12):1130-9. doi: 10.1002/phar.1668.
More at: https://twitter.com/hiv
insight
No comments:
Post a Comment