Consent-Driven Care with Dr. Crystal Beal

Physician's Guide to Doctoring with Bradley B. Block, MD

Dr. Crystal Beal is a non-binary femme physician, who provides high-quality, expert, and individualized queer and #genderaffirming medical care through QueerDoc.com. QueerDoc’s mission is to raise the bar and lower the barriers to accessing #genderaffirmingcare. Dr. Beal discusses just how frequent trauma is and how what they call “consent-driven care” is an extension of #traumainformedcare. For more on trauma-informed care, see my episode with Dr. Megan Gerber.

As #physicians, we shouldn’t just assume that we have permission to touch our #patients in a way that we deem appropriate. We may assume that it is implied that if they are in the office for a thyroid exam, we can just examine their neck, but keep in mind, there may be a #traumahistory. They teach us at what point during the visit we should be asking for consent for parts of the #physicalexam and even the way we ask some parts of the history. This can help us #buildtrust with patients who may have had experiences with the #healthcaresystem that has given them cause for mistrust. We also discuss when it is necessary to have a chaperone.

Dr. Beal attended Florida State University College of Medicine. They completed their training at Valley #FamilyMedicine #Residency achieving Board Certification in Family Medicine. Continuing to see gaps in care for their #LGBTQ+community, Dr. Beal sought extensive additional training in #sexualhealth, #queerhealth, and gender affirming care including self-study, continuing medical education trainings, and shadowing experts at Seattle Children’s #GenderClinic.

While starting QueerDoc, Dr. Beal supported their #privatepractice through work providing care for people with #substanceusedisorder. Working in this field has continued to ignite Dr. Beal's passion for #equityinhealthcare and advocacy for vulnerable populations. Now board-eligible in #AddictionMedicine, Dr. Beal plans to sit for the exams in 2021.

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