How Kind Clinic Provides Medical Access to The LGBTQIA+ Community In Central Texas
By Dan Nguyen, MD•
Health InsuranceLGBTQIA+
Kind Clinic provides free testing and affordable health care treatment for the LGBTQIA+ community in Texas and their clinic can see more than 2,000 patients in a single month. We recently spoke with one of their medical doctors, Dr. Dan Ngueyn, to learn more about what patients can expect from Kind Clinic and why their services remaining open are crucial right now.
How does the Health care crisis directly impact the LGBTQIA+ Community?
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted so many communities and continues to affect health care and access to services in multiple ways.
These effects have hit the LGBTQIA+ community hard. For instance, stay-at-home orders can be especially grueling for LGBTQIA+ people who are still in the closet and living with family.
When it comes to the financial struggles, studies prior to the pandemic show that 22% of the LGBTQIA+ community live in poverty (compared to 16% in the straight, cis-gendered community), 17% of the community do not have health insurance (compared to 12%), and LGBTQIA+ youth are 120% more likely than non-LGBTQ youth to experience homelessness.
How can we be allies to the current public health crisis the LGBTQIA+ Community is experiencing within health care?
One of the largest public health disparities which continues to plague the LGBTQIA+ community is obtaining medical insurance. There are a myriad of reasons why those of us in the community are unable to get health insurance, but our community needs health care and often medical prescriptions.
It’s important for the community to know the medical needs and limitations the LGBTQIA+ community faces when it comes to medical access. The more people know the realities of health care for our community, the more impact it will have in providing access.
Kind Clinic offers a variety of volunteer opportunities so more people can become aware of our medical access for others and spread the message. We support and educate our LGBTQIA+ communities through outreach and events. Learn more about volunteer opportunities here.
Have you noticed any trends with how patients are accessing services?
As a full-time physician at Kind Clinic we’ve quickly developed an efficient and safe workflow with our Telemedicine visits while keeping testing/treatment services available at clinics. We have noticed an increase in new patients simply because other clinics have temporarily shut down services or permanently closed doors due to the pandemic.
We have become even more of a major player in the sexual health and wellness in Austin and San Antonio. As a medical provider for Kind, Iask all new patients that come to see me the following question, “Welcome to the Kind Clinic! How did you hear about us?” The two most common answers: #1: “I heard from my friend that you guys were open to help us!” #2: “The ___ clinic actually told me to call y’all for help.” It’s clear that the community needs Kind Clinic and are spreading the word about our services and treatment options to others in the community.
What services can patients access through TeleKind?
As a sexual health and wellness clinic, patients are able to access all of our routine services for little to no cost. For baseline testing for sexually transmitted infections (STI’s) status, we offer drop-in testing without an appointment. For STI symptoms or if you received that awkward but very responsible phone call from a previous partner, we offer STI testing and associated on-site administration/dispensing of treatment medications.
Patients interested in starting or continuing HIV prevention medications (PrEP) and/or hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for transgender/non-binary patients, we’re here to assist in your treatment and care options.
For Persons Living With HIV (PLWH), we can assist in their HIV care. We also offer drop-in HIV and STI testing with convenient hours and no appointment necessary. As a patient, you will have a patient advocate as part of your care team to help with linkage to assistance programs to cover the cost of medications. Although most of our patients are able to receive medication at no cost there are a few instances where a patient may pay a low cost for a prescription.
What medications are patients able to access for each service?
Many of our medications are dispensed/administered for STI treatment purposes. When it comes to prescriptions being sent to a pharmacy without insurance, the most common ones being sent for fill are HRT for Transgender patients.
Usually, for masculinizing care, it is testosterone gel or an injectable option. For feminizing care, it can consist of Estradiol tablets, injectable Valerate, Spironolactone tablets, and micronized Progesterone capsules.
For preventing HIV, Descovy and Truvada are filled for PrEP. Antiretroviral therapy or ART for Persons Living With HIV is case-by-case dependent on the patient.
How to Afford Medications at Kind Clinic
It’s important to know you have options when it comes to affording medication even if you don’t have health insurance. RxSaver is a free prescription savings platform that allows you to search for coupons in seconds. RxSaver coupons are free to use and can help save on medication costs.
For those in the LGBTQIA+ community who are either without insurance or their medication is not covered, make sure to use RxSaver before picking up your prescription. Talk to a health care provider at Kind Clinic to learn more about your options and most importantly, stay safe and healthy.
Dan Nguyen, MD
Dr. Dan Nguyen received his Medical Doctorate degree from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, School of Medicine and has been a part of the Texas Health Action/Kind Clinic family for over five years as a dedicated volunteer, and more recently as one of our amazing providers.
The information on this site is generalized and is not medical advice. It is intended to supplement, not substitute for, the expertise and judgment of your healthcare professional. Always seek the advice of your healthcare professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard seeking advice or delay in seeking treatment because of something you have read on our site. RxSaver makes no warranty as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of this information.
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