The LGBTQIA+ Affirming Provider Designation is a new, voluntary addition to a UPMC provider’s online profile. It shows they are affirming of LGBTQIA+ patients’ unique health care needs. To earn the designation, they must complete three training modules and five attestations. The idea of an LGBTQIA+ affirming provider is a step above an LGBTQIA+ accepting provider, Dr. Gero says. “Someone who’s accepting essentially just means they’re not going to actively discriminate against LGBTQ people,” she says. “People who are affirming, for us, means two things. One is that you have some understanding of the concerns important to the community. [The second is] you have a shared language so that you know how to talk to and about the community during the appointment and later in clinical documentation.” The LGBTQIA+ Affirming Provider Designation came out of more than two years of internal planning and development. Leaders from UPMC and UPMC Health Plan conducted focus groups with LGBTQIA+ community members. There, they learned that LGBTQIA+ people often had trouble finding health care providers who were affirming of their needs. UPMC and UPMC Health Plan representatives then partnered with the Fenway Institute to make sure their plan aligned with the latest research. The Fenway Institute has dedicated itself to the health care needs of sexual and gender minorities. The UPMC and UPMC Health Plan leaders also tested their training modules with LGBTQIA+ people and with a group of UPMC providers. “We really wanted to make sure that the content was up to date and relevant to the LGBTQIA+ community and providers,” Dr. Gero says. The designation officially went live in the summer of 2022.