Dear USPATH colleagues,

For my first USPATH President Newsletter I want to start with thanking you all. Thank you for joining us in Colorado for our 2023 Scientific Symposium. Thank you for being present in sessions, virtual rooms, and for each other during our first in-person symposium since 2019. I sincerely want to thank everyone for their support and feedback leading up to, during, and since the Symposium. I and the USPATH Board greatly appreciate your trust in sharing opportunities to improve how USPATH functions and what USPATH does to better the health and well-being of our transgender and gender diverse patients and communities.

Since the 2023 Scientific Symposium, the USPATH Board continues to be engaged in initiatives to advance our mission. Recently, the American Medical Association (AMA) passed several policies to improve health care access for trans people. An ad hoc task force will be formed to identify issues with reimbursement for gender-affirming care and recommend solutions to address these barriers to care. This policy was the direct result of our collaboration with our partner GLMA: Healthcare Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality. We will be working to ensure this task force includes trans community members as well as clinicians who serve them.

The USPATH board has been reviewing feedback from the 2023 Scientific Symposium and is currently planning for our 2025 Scientific Symposium. Additionally, following renewed interest at the Scientific Symposium, opportunities for new USPATH committees will be launched in the coming months; please be on the lookout for emails detailing how to get involved.

Lastly, as we honor Transgender Awareness Week (November 13-19), Transgender Day of Remembrance (November 20), and Native American Heritage Day (November 24), we are grateful to our community for calling us in. The 2023 Scientific Symposium had several initiatives specific to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), including a diverse Scientific Symposium Committee with a DEI designee, funding opportunities for USPATH President Scholars, and multiple meetings with local community members in Colorado to identify plenary speakers such as the inimitable charlie amáyá scott. The USPATH Board will continue to develop new initiatives to live up to the principles of DEI in serving trans patients and communities. We appreciate the feedback and enthusiasm of our members who have offered their input and guidance on this and additional considerations for the future of USPATH.

As we prepare to gather to honor our communities and celebrate the coming holidays, we are eternally grateful to our membership who seek to better care for trans patients and communities.

In Solidarity,

Carl G Streed, Jr., MD, MPH, FACP, FAHA

President, US Professional Association for Transgender Health

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What we’re reading lately:

Anti-Trans Myths: How a political movement manufactured scientific misinformation and legitimized hate. By Simón(e) D. Sun and Florence Ashley

https://www.openmindmag.org/articles/anti-trans-myths

We misremember marriage equality as 'easy' fight. But it paved the way for trans rights. By Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen and Marc Solomon

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2023/11/17/marriage-equality-trans-people-lgbtq-rights/71584822007/