Dr. Nathan Hoag saw a great opportunity for multi-disciplinary collaboration: Transgender surgical care has been available, but in a limited and specialty-focused capacity. By bringing together a team of physicians from plastic surgery, gynecology, urology, psychiatry and family practice, Dr. Hoag hoped to increase both the multidisciplinary aspect of surgical care and the scope of surgical interventions offered on Vancouver Island.
The simple act of meeting enabled team members to better understand each others’ individual capabilities, and allowed the group to better define which surgeries could be offered to transgender patients on Vancouver Island.
Since the meeting, the physicians have collaborated actively around patient care: Transgender patients are getting the care they need locally, patients are more easily directed to the appropriate physicians, team members have been able to collaborate on difficult cases, and according to Dr. Hoag, “We have booked reconstructive surgeries that would otherwise not have happened, as we were able to organize combined transgender cases.”
Better access, improved communication, and successful patient outcomes, all thanks to one meeting.