Izzy featured in Emory’s Publication: Goizueta Beyond
Read the full interview here!
From the interview: “I went into medicine to help people, and here is a group of patients who have been mostly overlooked by the medical field.”
Why I Started QMed
“Two days after the 2016 presidential election, Isabel Lowell appeared on a panel at the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians annual meeting in midtown Atlanta. As a family physician who sees transgender patients, Lowell was leading a full day of training on providing trans-competent care. When not speaking, she sat in the back of the room next to her wife and new baby.
The mood of the room was grim, but lightened when another panelist wistfully described her fantasy: a multidisciplinary health center dedicated to transgender health, where patients would visit for a day-long lineup of appointments with reproductive, preventive, mental-health, and surgical specialists, all focused on transgender issues.
Inwardly, Lowell bristled. “I used to think that was the gold standard,” she said afterward. “Transgender patients could just go [to these clinics] and get everything they need. I think it’s wonderful in theory, but … it lets everyone else off the hook. It makes it this special ‘other’ thing that you have to go to a special center for.”
Transgender care should be primary care, she thinks. It should require no special center, and unless a procedure is needed, no specialists.“ Any doctor should be able to do this,” she said.”
-Keren Landman, “Making Primary Care Trans-Friendly”, The Atlantic, last modified April 21, 2017,
www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/04/trans-medicine/523731/
Dr. Izzy Lowell Featured in The Atlantic: Making Primary Care Trans-Friendly
“Two days after the 2016 presidential election, Isabel Lowell appeared on a panel at the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians annual meeting in midtown Atlanta. As a family physician who sees transgender patients, Lowell was leading a full day of training on providing trans-competent care. When not speaking, she sat in the back of the room next to her wife and new baby.
The mood of the room was grim, but lightened when another panelist wistfully described her fantasy: a multidisciplinary health center dedicated to transgender health, where patients would visit for a day-long lineup of appointments with reproductive, preventive, mental-health, and surgical specialists, all focused on transgender issues.
Inwardly, Lowell bristled. “I used to think that was the gold standard,” she said afterward. “Transgender patients could just go [to these clinics] and get everything they need. I think it’s wonderful in theory, but … it lets everyone else off the hook. It makes it this special ‘other’ thing that you have to go to a special center for.”
Transgender care should be primary care, she thinks. It should require no special center, and unless a procedure is needed, no specialists.“ Any doctor should be able to do this,” she said.”
-Keren Landman, “Making Primary Care Trans-Friendly”, The Atlantic, last modified April 21, 2017,
www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/04/trans-medicine/523731/
Going the Extra Mile for Transgender Patients
“I was told there was no need for a gender clinic because there weren’t any trans patients in Atlanta,” she said. “It turns out there were. In fact, people started driving from out of state to see me.”
One patient in particular caught Lowell’s attention. After arriving a few minutes late for an appointment, the patient explained that he had left home at 6 a.m., driving more than five hours from Tennessee to see Lowell.
“I thought, ‘This is ridiculous,’” she said. “‘There has to be a better way.’”
Two years ago, Lowell founded QMed, practice based in Decatur, Ga., that’s focused on providing hormone therapy.
Dr. Izzy Lowell speaks at the American Academy of Family Physicians
New Arrivals and a Bundle of JOY!
Updated: Jul 14, 2019
We have 3 recent arrivals who we would like to introduce.
First, Dr. Lowell and her wife are delighted to welcome to the world their new baby Amelia, born on November 5.
Not new to the world, but new to our team, please join us in welcoming our new Nurse Practitioners in Atlanta: Chris Turner & Michael “Luke” Lucas.
Chris Turner, NP
(She, Her, Hers)
Practice Days: Tues, Weds, Thurs
Patients: Kids 16 & Up, Adults
While Chris is a board-certified nurse practitioner by training, she prefers to define herself as: friend, counselor, advocate, listener and confidant. She earned her Master’s Degree in Nursing from Emory University, and served as a staff nurse at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. Chris’s goal is always to learn as much as you’re willing to share about you, your life, your health, your needs and your goals. All with the intent of helping you live your best life. You can book an appointment with Chris here. Chris sees patients (Kids 16 & Up and Adults) Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays.
Hormone Replacement Therapy – studies find it’s safer than birth control
Updated: Jul 14, 2019
Recent studies have tried to quantify the impact of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) on the cardiovascular system, by measuring the risk of blood clots. This is also one way the risks of taking birth control contraception has been measured. 2 recent studies reveal that HRT is nearly as safe (if not more so) as birth control medications when it comes to forming blood clots.
Read the full article here!
The “Rainbow Wave” & its impact post election
As the buzz of the election recedes, the historical milestones are still tremendously impactful. 2018 saw a record number of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender candidates run for office, with Christine Hallquist making history as the first transgender candidate to be nominated for a governorship by a major party. There were more than 430 openly LGBTQ people who ran for office at every level of government in 2018 & several transgender women appeared on ballots across the United States. This “rainbow wave” of LGBTQ candidates is a big step in the right direction; we need more LGBTQ people representing the constituents & sitting in the room while decisions that directly impact the community are being made. The increase in candidates & supporters helps pave the way for more transgender candidates in future elections.
Here are several inspiring & informative articles:
A ‘Rainbow Wave’? 2018 Has More L.G.B.T. Candidates Than Ever
Washington Post: In 2018, transgender women are running for governor, Congress and more
Huffington Post: Historic Number Of LGBTQ Candidates Won Primaries In 2018 Midterms
New York Times: Christine Hallquist, a Transgender Woman, Wins Vermont Governor’s Primary