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I am an adoptee. I was adopted when I was few months old. At the time of this encounter with a doctor, I did not know anything about my birth parents other than they were both teenagers when I was born.Every doctor I have ever seen has asked for medical history from my biological family. My primary physician that I had for several years had recently retired and I had to find someone new. A coworker had recommended a particular doctor, so I signed up to have him as my PCP fir the purpose of my insurance plan. I had no immediate need to see him, however I was pregnant at the time and my obstetrician was taking care of anything I needed at that time.After my daughter was born, I decided to get acquainted with my new doctor. I made an appointment and was given the usual clipboard and forms to complete. Of course it asked about family medical history and as usual, I left it blank.When I was called into the exam room, Dr A asked me why I left the history portion blank. When I explained that I was an adoptee. He glared at me and told me that in his native country (India) that being adopted meant that you were a discarded, unworthy person who was the lowest of the low. I was essentially told by this doctor that I was equivalent to a piece of fecal matter.I was in shock and didn't say a word. Being only a few weeks postpartum, my moods were a mess. I stayed for the appointment and cried as soon as I reached my car.I really wish I had reported this man to the board of medicine. I have never been so insulted by anyone ever in my whole life. I didn't have time to locate a new doctor since I was a new mom and was soon returning to work. I had to endure this man until I could find someone else who was accepting new patients.I am so glad that I will never see that awful man ever again.

Suggested starting point: As an AEMT, how do I ask a transgender person for their biological gender without being offensive?Also suggested: New article identifies issues for transgender treatment in emergency departmentsWhen you’re pulling health history from a trans patient assumptions can make your life difficult and many healthcare intake processes aren’t designed to catch trans people in a normal intake.Last time I did an intake (two weeks ago), the nurse doing the intake never noticed that I’m trans and the only clue the surgeon had was that my medications included a really high dose of spironolactone (okay, it’s not high for trans people but if you’re used to spiro in other contexts, it’s really high.)If you don’t know that the person you’re talking to is trans, and if they don’t volunteer that information (given the rates at which trans people are assaulted and harassed by medical providers there are reasons that many of us won’t tell medical providers that we’re trans) you may not have any indication that they are trans.If you know that they’re trans, making sure that you are using their name and preferred pronouns (if you don’t know, ask) and then let them know that you need to get some medical history information from them, some of which may pertain to the gender they were assigned at birth and their transition history.The important thing for health providers to understand is that trans people have a really hard time trusting medical care providers and you need to understand why this is sensitive… it’s not just about respecting our identity, it goes further than that.Nearly 1 in 5 transgender people have been denied medical care for being transgenderOver 25% of trans people have been harassed by care providers2% of trans people have been victims of violence in doctor’s offices, 1% were victims of violence in emergency roomsMore than 25% of trans people have delayed seeking treatment for fear of harassment in medical settings, 1 in 3 have delayed preventive care for the same reason.[1]If you want actual and effective methods of gathering information, it needs to happen at an organizational and process level. Patients need to be given an opportunity to self report transgender status and they need to be made aware that it is safe for them to do so. Medical intake forms need to be designed in a way that allows you to gather health information from transgender patients which may pertain to the gender they were assigned at birth rather than the gender they identify as.Going back to my recent intake: The patient medical history process was digital and one of the things I appreciated is that I was able to mark N/A on every piece of medical history that pertained to having a uterus (when was your last period, are you undergoing menopause, etc.) That’s good. What’s not good is that there was nowhere that the process captured information about things like date of last prostate exam. For trans men who may have marked “Male” on the form, it is unlikely they would have been presented an opportunity to provide potentially relevant information that pertains to having a uterus (all of those things I marked N/A to.)I wish I could give you something simple and easy. Some phrase you could use or questions you can ask. The truth, sadly, is messier than that and real effective change is going to have to come from institutions. If providers join the push for tools that allow them to effectively identify and treat trans patients, that kind of pressure from within the system can be a significant part of achieving that change.As always, I’m available in the comments for further questions and to expand on any of the above.Footnotes[1] http://www.thetaskforce.org/static_html/downloads/reports/reports/ntds_full.pdf

The Toxic LadyThis is one of the more bizarre cases in my opinion. It all started on the evening of February 19, 1994, at 8:15, at Riverside Hospital, in California, when Gloria Ramirez, a patient suffering from cervical cancer, called in an ambulance, suffering from breathing problems. Shortly after she lost consciousness. As medical staff brought her to the operating room, to try to reverse her condition, it became obvious that her condition was rapidly deteriorating. They then took a blood sample by making a small incision. As soon as this happened, the surgeons began to notice a garlic-like oil forming on her skin, as well as the smell of ammonia in the air. The fumes were coming from the patient’s body, and some of the medical staff were feeling it’s effects.One of the doctors also noticed manilla-colored particles floating in her blood. Shortly after this happened, one of the surgeons passed out. Two more medical staff passed out, one on a chair by the lobby. After this happened, the hospital was put on high alert, and the patients were evacuated to the parking lot. The hazmat team soon arrived, and a total of 23 people fell ill, five of whom were hospitalized, and one of them (one of the original operators) had necrosis in her legs, causing them to take months to heal. A brave team of medical staff stayed behind, in a desperate attempt to save Gloria, but it was too much. After 45 minutes of CPR and defibrillation, Gloria was declared dead at 8:45.Six days later, an autopsy conducted in an airtight room, in hazmat suits found…nothing! Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing that a normal patient suffering from cervical cancer wouldn’t exhibit. To this day, we still have no idea what happened.Several theories have been brought up, from the defibrillator causing electric signals in their blood to change, to it being attributed to mass hysteria (See the dancing plague of 1518). Despite all these theories, nothing can be said certainly about what exactly happened on that fateful night.Rest in peace, Gloria.