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World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH)
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health Inc. (WPATH) is an international, inter-disciplinary non-profit organization devoted to promoting evidence-based care, education, research, advocacy, public policy and respect in transgender health.
Originally named the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA) -- after Harry S. Benjamin, M.D. (1885-1986) a pioneer researcher of gender dysphoria -- WPATH brings together professionals from a cross-section of fields such as medicine, psychology, social work, anthropology and others to produce a journal on transgender issues, provide web-based resources for understanding and convene conferences and communication boards exploring gender identity.
Standards of Care
The WPATH SOC version 7 (published in 2011) documents medically necessary and appropriate care for transgender or transition-related treatment. More specifically, it articulates:
- A professional consensus about psychiatric, psychological, medical and surgical management of care for individuals presenting with "gender dysphoria" (transsexualism);
- Physician/health care provider protocols for diagnosis and assessment;
- A guide to clinical decisions for medically necessary (reconstructive) treatments for individual patients; and
- A flexible framework, rather than rigid rules, of appropriate care.