Transgender Health - Fenway Health: Health Care Is A Right, Not A Privilege.

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Gender-affirming, high quality, patient-centered care.
Be you. We’ve got you covered.

At Fenway Health, we are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of trans and gender diverse communities. Whether through our groundbreaking research in the health and wellbeing of trans people, our ongoing policy and advocacy work, or the care we provide in our own neighborhood, we work to embody our organizational mission and values through all we do with our trans and gender diverse communities.

Our integrated model of care is one example of how we continuously work to lower the barriers trans and gender diverse people face in accessing care. From their first day at Fenway Health, our providers are trained to provide all aspects of care through an affirming, trauma-informed model. We also consider hormone therapy to be a part of primary care, and all of our Internal Medicine and Family Medicine providers are happy to work with our patients towards their individual goals.

In addition to working with current and prospective patients in accessing care, the Trans Health Program offers a number of supports and services to our trans and gender diverse community members. We currently host a variety of support groups for trans and gender diverse people and their loved ones. In addition to these recurring groups, we also host regular events and informational sessions for our community, providing reliable and accessible information on a variety of topics related to about trans and gender diverse people’s health, experiences, and resources. Our program regularly works together with local health centers, hospitals, community organizations, and other similar groups to meet the healthcare needs of our trans and gender diverse communities.

Are your questions not answered here? Would you prefer to speak with someone about our care and services for trans and gender diverse people before scheduling an appointment? Sign up for an appointment in our All Access Hours! These free 20 minute appointments with our Patient Advocate are available to anyone interested in learning more about the care Fenway Health provides and the resources and supports offered through the Trans Health Program.

You can schedule these appointments using the link below, or by giving us a call at 857.313.6589.

Dear Fenway Health Patients and Clients,

As you may have already heard, on December 1, 2022, Fenway Health will transition our electronic medical record system to Epic and the MyChart patient portal. We are excited to utilize this patient-centered platform, which will provide secure and robust tools and resources to improve documentation and integration for providers, while empowering our clients and patients to take a more active role in your health and health care. You can read more about the new Epic system and MyChart patient portal here.

The switch to this new system will result in great improvements to the overall user experience for Fenway Health patients and clients. This will include greater access to view your medical records, and better tools to connect and communicate with your care team. It will also be easier to view clinical information such as lab results, schedule appointments, request medication refills, pay bills, and more.

Fenway Health is working diligently with Epic to ensure that this software, which is used by health centers around the country, is tailored to meet the needs of Fenway’s diverse patient and client community. This includes system customization to allow for the collection and visibility of pronoun data in patient electronic health records (EHRs).

Unfortunately, some of the data from our previous EHR does not transfer correctly into Epic. Because of this, our patient services team will be recollecting patient identity data in the coming weeks. During your next visit to Fenway Health, you may be asked questions regarding the name and pronouns you use. We understand that this may be confusing, stressful, and frustrating, and we ask that you bear with us as we work to ensure that our records remain as accurate as possible moving forward.

Ultimately, MyChart will empower users to have much more control over their own records. Once you receive your MyChart access, you will be able to log in to update certain demographic information such as name, gender identity, sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation, marital status, race, and others. Some of the language and options you see at the launch of MyChart may not be what you are used to; we are working with Epic to reword some of these fields to more inclusive language, and to add pronouns as an editable data field.

Please keep an eye out for additional guides to using MyChart that we will be provided specifically for trans and gender-diverse patients and clients.

This will be a period of transition for Fenway Health as we roll out these changes, and we will continue to find ways to improve our systems as everyone gets used to the new system. The implementation of Epic and MyChart will result in major long-term improvements to the way we are able to collect patient data, and will empower our patients and clients to access their own information like never before. We humbly ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate this change together.

As always, welcome your feedback and questions. Please feel free to get in touch with us by emailing myfenway@fenwayhealth.org.

Medical Care

Our integrated model of care means all of our providers are trained in and prepared to provide care to trans and gender diverse adults, including primary care and care specific to gender affirmation. To schedule an appointment, call the number listed below and request an appointment with a medical provider.

We have three clinical sites providing medical care at this time.

These sites see patients of all ages through Family and Internal Medicine:

Ansin Building, 1340 Boylston Street
Fenway: South End, 142 Berkeley Street

This site sees only patients who are 12-29 years old:

Sidney Borum, Jr. Health Center, 142 Berkeley Street

To schedule a medical appointment, please call 617.927.6000.

Looking for information about our care for trans and gender diverse youth?

For more information about what to expect, refer to the Gender Affirming and Medical Care tab, or reach out to us directly at 857.313.6589 or transhealth@fenwayhealth.org.

Behavioral Health

Fenway Health has behavioral health services that provide episodic treatment and assessments for surgery referrals for trans, nonbinary, and gender diverse patients of Fenway. It is best to call the Behavioral Health intake line at 617.927.6202 to ask what the current wait time is for starting treatment and whether the services available are the best fit for your needs. For additional information about services offered through our Behavioral Health department, click here.

To find a therapist outside Fenway Health, there are a few places people may search online. One category of websites is those created specifically for the purpose of tracking affirming providers. Some examples of these include transcaresite.org and inclusivetherapists.com. Other publicly available sites include those generally used to find behavioral health providers, such as psychologytoday.org and zencare.co, which may be narrowed down using key terms such as “transgender.” Also available are professional credentialing websites, such as the NASW.org website. Finally, many health insurance carriers have lists of therapists if you call the member services phone number on the back of your card. For further assistance in finding a behavioral health provider, feel free to directly contact the Trans Health Program or your Fenway medical provider

While not all of our trans and gender diverse patients pursue medical gender affirmation, many of our community members are looking for information on these topics that is up to date, and that they know they can trust. Our goal for all of our patients is to help them express their most authentic selves, including weighing the highest standards for safety and efficacy for all medical decisions. These documents are available for reference and to facilitate discussions with your medical provider.

For those who are pursuing gender affirming hormone therapy, we operate under a model of informed consent and shared decision making for all of our trans and gender diverse patients. This typically entails conversations between our patients and their medical providers, discussing their goals for gender affirmation and management of any current medical or behavioral health concerns. Our patients are the experts in their own experiences and identities, and each person’s needs and goals will be different. This shared understanding of goals and priorities guides the shared decision-making process, determining what the best next step(s) are for you. For more information about what to expect during your first few visits, take a look at the brochure below.

Many of our patients are very educated on the medications available, but we know it can be difficult to tell what options are available. Feel free to use the resources below to prepare for medical visits and facilitate conversations with your provider.

Gender Affirming Medication Options

This is not a comprehensive list of all medications available – we strongly encourage communication with your care team about goals for gender affirmation and medical care in assessing the best treatment options for each patient.

Anti-androgen Options – English and Spanish
Estrogen Options – English and Spanish
Progesterone Options – English and Spanish
Puberty Suppression Options – English and Spanish
Testosterone Options – English and Spanish

Risk/Benefit Forms and Consent Process

Estrogen Risk/Benefits – English and Spanish
Puberty Suppression Risk and Benefits – English and Spanish
Testosterone Risk/Benefits – English and Spanish

Self Injection Guidance

Self-Injection Guide

Downloadable Self-Injection Guide for people who are managing their own intramuscular or subcutaneous injections of hormones. [These guidelines are not meant to replace proper training in injecting techniques and safety precautions. Please talk to your medical provider first and get proper training before attempting to self-inject using these guidelines.]

Injection Dose Calculator

Use this calculator to figure out how much of your medicine (volume) to inject. Only enter numbers in the calculator (i.e., 1 or 1.0 or 10). Do not enter letters or other characters. Click on the “Solve” button. The “volume to take,” is the amount to fill or draw the medicine up to in the syringe. For instance if 100mg is prescribed to you and you have a concentration of 200mg/mL in a 1.0 mL vial, the volume you take will be 0.5mL or cc as marked on the syringe. This is one-half of 1 cc. You can look at the syringe illustrations below to help visualize this. If you have any questions on your dose, call your medical prescriber. For Fenway patients, call the nursing call center at 617-927-6300.

Dose Ordered (The amount your provider ordered. e.g., enter ‘80’ for 80mg)
Concentration (example: enter ‘200’ for 200mg/mL)

Volume to Take (Fill syringe to this amount in mL)

Needle and Syringe Disposal

For information on proper disposal of needles and syringes, including a list of needle and syringe disposal sites, click here.

transneedles.org

Visit here for more info.

Looking for information about care for trans and gender diverse adults? Click here!

While we don’t do any surgical procedures at Fenway Health, we are happy to assist patients and community members with accessing the surgical care they need. If you are a medical patient at Fenway Health, the best first step is to speak with your medical provider about your goals and how to meet any requirements your insurance or future surgeon may have.

Below are a few resources some patients find helpful in seeking gender affirming surgeries, and surgeons who perform them.

Some people check online in social media surgery groups for trans and gender diverse people, or websites for trans and gender diverse people such as transbucket.com, where they can see photographs and talk with people who have worked with a particular surgeon. Others may call their insurance company for recommendations of surgeons who are covered under their insurance plan. It is best to learn what you can about a potential surgeon before moving forward with your choice, especially when there is more than one option to choose from. Sometimes there may be only one option available. Be sure to ask about what insurance coverage a surgeon accepts for payment, if any, as you make a decision on who to pursue surgery with.

Fenway providers are happy to assist with pre-surgery assessments and referrals for our primary care patients. Before Fenway mental health and medical providers can write a referral letter for surgery, you must have a specific surgeon and a specific procedure described in the letter. Fenway providers do not write referral letters addressed “To Whom It May Concern.” Contact your medical provider or care team to request a surgery assessment and/or assistance

Groups are open to trans, non-binary, questioning, or other gender diverse identified people ages 18+. You do not need to be a patient of Fenway Health to attend, and all Fenway Health groups are free to attend. See groups listed below as well as additional resources.

Note: These spaces are exclusively for community building and peer support. Visitors, researchers, and students may not join for reasons other than participating in the group. For questions, concerns, or additional information, please contact the group facilitators listed below.

1st & 3rd Tuesday of Each Month 6-7:30PM
This Boston-based group is meeting over Zoom until further notice. The Zoom link is available by request. Please contact transhealth@fenwayhealth.org for additional information, or to be added to our attendee list. Attendees will receive the link to join via email prior to each meeting.

1st & 3rd Wednesday of Each Month 5:30-7PM
This is a hybrid group, meeting in person and via Zoom. In-person groups are typically held at UU Church in Barnstable (3330 Main St, Barnstable, MA). Call or email in advance to attend: 617.515.6679 or aburke@fenwayhealth.org

Looking for something else? We’ve compiled in-person and virtual resources that are available at Fenway Health and elsewhere. Take a look at the TGD Adult Support Resources document. If you have any questions, updates, or additions to this document, send us an email at transhealth@fenwayhealth.org.

For information about groups for youth, parents, guardians, and family members, click here!

For information about other support and therapy groups available through the Fenway Health Behavioral Health Department, click here!

Are you seeking clinical consultation or information?

Our protocols for gender affirming care are available below.

For clinical case consultation, we recommend Transline: Transgender Medical Consultation Service. Responses are typically received within 2-3 business days.

Looking for information about writing letters of support for surgery?

For guidance and support, click the button below or email us at transhealth@fenwayhealth.org. A free webinar is available by request for practitioners and educators who are looking to support trans and gender diverse people in accessing gender-affirming surgery.
General Surgery Letter Sample

For additional information, we recommend the resources below.

How did this program come to be?

Take a look at our History of the Fenway Transgender Health Program booklet to learn more!

Do I have to transfer my primary care to Fenway to get hormone treatment at Fenway?

Not necessarily. Fenway does not require patients to have their primary care at our health center sites in order to manage hormone treatments, however, your health insurance may require you to do so. Contact the member services phone number on the back of your insurance card if you have a question on whether you can receive specialty care at one primary health center if your primary care provider is located at another center.

For people insured by MassHealth or Medicaid/Medicare, you will be required by those insurance plans to change your primary care to Fenway if you want any medical services here.

How do I update my name and/or gender marker?

We have created a dedicated resource with information about name and gender marker changes for people in Massachusetts, which you can find below.

Fenway Name/Gender Marker Update

If you were born outside of Massachusetts, or if you have documents to update that are not included in the resource above, we recommend using the NCTE: ID Documents Center for additional information.

Some find it helpful to have legal assistance and/or consultation while changing names and gender markers. The Transgender ID Project is a collaboration between GLAD, Ropes & Gray LLP, Goodwin, and the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition to assist trans and gender diverse people in New England with changing their name and/or gender on federal and state documents.

Pop-up Transgender ID Project

How do I find out if my insurance covers hormone treatment and/or surgery?

Insurance coverage and benefits are specific to the plan a person has and all insurance coverage is not the same even within the same insurance company (Blue Cross, Aetna, Tufts, etc.). In order to get information that is about your personal coverage benefits, you must call the member services phone number listed on your insurance card to ask about coverage for the specific services you need. You have a right to request a copy of your policy that covers any trans/gender affirmation medical treatments. You may want to bring the information you learn or the policy copy to your medical visit to talk about what it means for your access to care. If you have additional questions regarding insurance, or you do not have insurance at all, call and ask for an appointment with Financial Services at 617.927.6000.

For additional information about understanding what your insurance covers, and what to do if your insurance does not cover gender affirming services, we recommend the NCTE: Health Coverage Guide.

How can I protect my healthcare information under the PATCH Act?

The Act to Protect Access to Confidential Healthcare (PATCH Act) went into effect on March 30, 2018 in Massachusetts. This law ensures that when multiple people are on the same insurance plan, confidential health care information is not shared with anyone other than the patient. This includes gender identity-related care for patients ages 18-26.

In order to protect your information, follow the steps below.

Find your health insurance plan name and policy number. Both can be found on your health insurance card.
Call the customer service phone number on the back of your health insurance card or on your health insurance plan’s website.
Specify which health care service you are referring to, including the date of the service and the name of your healthcare provider, and say that you do not want the Summary of Payment (SOP) form for that service to be sent.
Your health plan may want you to make the request in writing and will give you instructions for how to do that.

Note: It is unlawful for your health insurance plan to ask why you do not want the SOP form to be sent.

The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health has a robust Transgender Health Research program that is conducting ground-breaking research to improve the health and well-being of transgender people everywhere. To learn more about studies actively enrolling transgender folks, please visit the current studies at the Fenway Institute.

Looking to get an update on research in action? Take a look at Trans Health Research.

Health Information and Resources

Binding Guide

Legal Assistance

Community

Is your question not answered here? Contact us at:

857.313.6589 or transhealth@fenwayhealth.org

Medical Appointments

617.927.6000

Or schedule online by clicking below:

Behavioral Health

617.927.6202

Any other questions?

857.313.6589 or transhealth@fenwayhealth.org

Youth Services

Looking for information about care, services, and resources for trans and gender diverse youth?

Give Us Your Feedback

How did we do? Whether it’s about your visit, the care you received, or our customer service, we want to know.

Upcoming Events

march, 2023

Recent Blog Posts

National Tele-Education Program Expands Access to Transgender and Gender Diverse Health Care

March 27, 2023

Fenway Health announces receipt of $10,000,000 in charitable commitments for ‘Areas of Need’ Funding

February 9, 2023

Viability of gender-affirming health care is linked with policies and institutions that protect the rights and dignity of transgender and gender diverse people

December 16, 2022

Honoring Transgender Awareness Month 2022

November 10, 2022

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Interpretation Services Servicios de interpretación Serviços de interpretação 口译服务 Sèvis Entèpretasyon

Interpretation Services Servicios de interpretación Serviços de interpretação 口译服务 Sèvis Entèpretasyon

Trans Health Program and Gender-Affirming Care

Gender-affirming, high quality, patient-centered care.
Be you. We’ve got you covered.

Medical Care

Behavioral Health

Self-Injection Guide

Injection Dose Calculator

Needle and Syringe Disposal

transneedles.org

Are you seeking clinical consultation or information?

Looking for information about writing letters of support for surgery?

For additional information, we recommend the resources below.

Health Information and Resources

Legal Assistance

Community

Is your question not answered here? Contact us at:

Medical Appointments

617.927.6000

Behavioral Health

617.927.6202

Any other questions?

Youth Services

Newsletter

Give Us Your Feedback

How did we do? Whether it’s about your visit, the care you received, or our customer service, we want to know.

Upcoming Events

Recent Blog Posts

National Tele-Education Program Expands Access to Transgender and Gender Diverse Health Care

Fenway Health announces receipt of $10,000,000 in charitable commitments for ‘Areas of Need’ Funding

Viability of gender-affirming health care is linked with policies and institutions that protect the rights and dignity of transgender and gender diverse people

Honoring Transgender Awareness Month 2022

How did we do?

Manage Your Care Online

More Information

Interpretation Services Servicios de interpretación Serviços de interpretação 口译服务 Sèvis Entèpretasyon

Interpretation Services Servicios de interpretación Serviços de interpretação 口译服务 Sèvis Entèpretasyon

Trans Health Program and Gender-Affirming Care

Gender-affirming, high quality, patient-centered care. Be you. We’ve got you covered.

Self-Injection Guide

Injection Dose Calculator

Needle and Syringe Disposal

transneedles.org

Is your question not answered here? Contact us at:​

Medical Appointments

617.927.6000

Behavioral Health

617.927.6202

Any other questions?

Youth Services

Newsletter

Give Us Your Feedback

How did we do? Whether it’s about your visit, the care you received, or our customer service, we want to know.

Upcoming Events

Recent Blog Posts

National Tele-Education Program Expands Access to Transgender and Gender Diverse Health Care

Fenway Health announces receipt of $10,000,000 in charitable commitments for ‘Areas of Need’ Funding

Viability of gender-affirming health care is linked with policies and institutions that protect the rights and dignity of transgender and gender diverse people

Honoring Transgender Awareness Month 2022

How did we do?

Manage Your Care Online

More Information

Gender-affirming, high quality, patient-centered care.
Be you. We’ve got you covered.

Is your question not answered here? Contact us at: