AMA president
makes first-ever appearance at GLMA conference

The president of the American Medical Association made a first-ever appearance Thursday at this year's annual conference of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, delivering a keynote address titled "Understanding, Advocacy, Leadership: The AMA Perspective on LGBT Health." J. Edward Hill told conference attendees during his address that he was "very proud to be here."

Hill praised GLMA for raising awareness of gay and lesbian health issues in the larger health care community. "First, GLMA has opened our eyes to the diverse needs of LGBT patients," he said in his speech. "And second--just as important--GLMA has told patients they have a right to expect a health care system filled with openness, fairness, and equality. As a result of these two efforts, our patients are stronger and healthier; not just our LGBT patients, but--in fact--all of our patients and communities."

He also called on all doctors, gay and straight, to double their efforts to meet the unique health needs of gay men and lesbians, including increased risks for suicide, substance abuse, smoking, violence, and HIV. "The solutions can be as simple as asking our patients basic questions about sexual orientation and activity," Hill said. "Or simply conducting an open-minded self-critique of how we treat the different people who walk into our office every day. But we need to uncover even more tools and techniques to help our fellow doctors reach and maintain the highest level of competency possible. And after we've found things that work, there's no reason we shouldn't teach them in our medical schools."

GLMA is the nation's largest organization devoted to ensuring equality in health care for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals and health care professionals. GLMA achieves its goals by using medical expertise in professional education, public policy work, patient education and referrals, and the promotion of research. The 23rd annual GLMA conference was held September 22-24 in Montreal. (Advocate.com)