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9
Some Background
for the Practitioner
10
(This chapter and the following chapter are adapted
from two articles which first appeared in San Francisco
Medicine, Nov./Dec. 1998, pp. 23-26.)
Physicians and other health care practitioners have
just begun to address the special health and lifestyle
issues of the gay, lesbian or bisexual patient. However,
the medical concerns of other sexual minorities (including
transgendered patients, patients with multiple sexual
partners, sex workers, and patients involved in S/M and
other "kinky" sexual behaviors) have received little to no
attention. This chapter will, I hope, be a starting point
for physicians and other health care professionals who
wish to address the health concerns and needs of sexual
minority patients.
The first question to answer for yourself is whether or
not you really wish to treat such patients. Some physicians