On top of that, finding health care providers capable of addressing their specific needs is difficult.
“In order to understand and address LGBT health disparities, we as health care providers need to better understand who our LGBT patients are,’’ said Dr. Stephen Boswell, president of Fenway Health.
The research institute at Fenway Health, which has long provided LGBT care, has published two policy briefs meant to jump-start conversations between doctors and patients. The first lays out reasons for asking patients about their sexual orientation and gender identity.
“If LGBT patients are told why it is important to gather such information, and that such information will be kept private and confidential, most will be forthcoming with this information,’’ the brief reads.
“Provider knowledge about their patients’ sexual orientation and gender identity can facilitate optimal care.’’
The second brief is a how-to, including a sample question for patient registration forms that reads “Do you think of yourself as’’ - with boxes to check indicating homosexual, heterosexual, bisexual, something else, or uncertain.
The brief encourages open conversation with patients about their lives, with questions like “Are you married?’’ or “Do you have a partner?’’
New hospital leaders
■Nathan Howell has joined St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center as chief operating officer, a role he previously held at three other hospitals. Howell replaced Philip Cormier, who left in November.
Howell comes from Easton Hospital in Pennsylvania. Before that, he was chief operating officer of Midwest Regional Medical Center in Oklahoma and of Crossgates River Oaks Hospital in Mississippi.
He also worked for John Hancock Financial Services.
■At Mount Auburn Hospital, Dr. Edwin Huang was named chairman of obstetrics and gynecology. He took the role Jan. 2, following the retirement of Dr. Charles Kawada. He had been at Massachusetts General Hospital since 2000.
He is an assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School.
Huang was associate director of the OB-GYN residency program shared by Mass. General and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. In that role, he oversaw the training of 40 residents. His clinical expertise includes gynecological procedures and minimally invasive surgery.
