I'm on my second rewrite of my Doctor's letter for GRS. My surgeon has two great letters from my therapists but I'm stumbling over the Doctor's letter.
My Doctor, while one of the best around for TG people, doesn't apparently have much experience writing letters for GRS because they haven't always been required till Insurance companies became involved. Insurer's evidently give more credence to your Physician's recommendations and record of care, than your Therapists recomendations, so their letter is becoming very important in getting Insurer's to cover GRS. Is there a template out there I could provide to my Doctor . . .
I have a few sample letters I was provided by a nurse case manager from my insurance.
I'm not sure if they'll be any help, but I think they might be especially if your doctor is the one prescribing you hormones?
A letter should obviously be on letterhead and signed by the doc.
The keywords in a letter are Diagnosis, Recommendation for Surgery, and Medically Cleared for any procedures [or specific procedure, if you'd like the letter to be specific.
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To Whom it May Concern:
I am writing in regards to my patient [client name], date of birth 00/00/0000, who has asked me to write a letter in support of [his/her/their] interest in reconstruction surgery as part of [his/her/their] ongoing anatomical gender transition from [gender] to [gender]. I have seen [client name] in support of gender transition since 00/00/00 and have been responsible for managing [his/her/their] hormone therapy since that time. I strongly support [client name]'s desire for surgery, as it is the necessary and appropriate next step in [his/her/their] transition process and will make [his/her/their] body as congruent as possible with [his/her/their] preferred sex. Per the World Professional Association of Transgender Health's (WPATH) Standards of Care, [client name] meets full medical necessity criteria for [his/her/their] desired surgery. [He/She/They] has[have] no physical or medical barriers to surgery and I communicate [his/her/their] clearance for surgery to [his/her/their] surgeon, [surgeon's name], by delivery of this letter.
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Hopefully this helps, I'm not experienced with this as I've not gotten my letters and I'm just starting on my journey to medically transition with hormones and surgery.
Thank you so much. Yes, this is helpful. My Dr is great--one of the best around for TG issues--but Dr's haven't been required to write letters until just recently. Its only been Therapists in the past.