Addressing Educational Gaps in Transgender Imaging Care

The recent Coronavirus pandemic acutely raised awareness about existing healthcare disparities affecting vulnerable populations in the United States and uncovered a growing need for radiology practices to advocate for and find ways to provide equitable access to indicated medical imaging and image-guided therapy. Timely access to imaging is key to maximizing early detection of a broad range of diseases and leading to earlier intervention, thereby potentially minimizing both patient morbidity and mortality. However, vulnerable patients continue to face challenges when navigating the complex healthcare system. Some of these barriers are surmountable, but to successfully overcome them, such barriers must be recognized, and systems must be redesigned to mitigate them. For such systemic change to take place, all members of the healthcare team, including radiologists, must first become aware and culturally competent.