SpectrumScores creators (from left) Naveen Jain, Phil Williams, and Jun Jeon.
Finding a physician you feel comfortable with isn’t always easy. And if you’re a member of the LGBTQ community, you know this to be all too true.
Safe spaces for LGBTQ folks within the healthcare environment exist, but they are sometimes difficult to find. For the founders of SpectrumScores, creating a platform for LGBTQ individuals do that, and more, has been their mission.
Phil Williams, Jun Jeon, and Naveen Jain are second-year medical students at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, and the creators of SpectrumScores–an app that allows members of the LGBTQ community across the nation to find competent and welcoming physicians in their area.
“We’re working on something we hope will improve medicine for a lot of people,” Williams said.
The trio met while preparing to participate in UPenn’s HealthX program, where medical and engineering students band together to solve real health care issues and problems.
“We didn’t really run into problems we were passionate about, and I was kind of bummed out,” Jeon said. “So I asked my roommate [Jain] to see what he was up to and he felt a similar way. So did Phil, so we went kind of rouge and formed our own team between us three medical students.”
After playing around with several ideas, like universal blood pressure cuffs and a home urinalysis kit, the three remained relatively uninspired. “Every time we would come up with an idea, it just kind of fizzled out,” Jain said.
Instead of focusing on the product, the team’s advisor encouraged them to focus on a problem. Which is how they settled on health care for the LGBTQ community.
“When we brought up the idea of LGBT health disparities, it immediately connected with everyone,” Jain said. “Initially, we thought there’s no way we can make a dent in such a huge problem, but the more we worked on it, and the more SpectrumScores started taking form, it was something we could be really passionate about, even if it didn’t really run into something practical immediately.”
The launch for SpectrumScores was initially planned for August of this year, but due to a high volume of user feedback and unexpected press, their hard launch has been slightly pushed back. “There’s a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of incredible people reaching out to us with ideas for features and things that could be incorporated to make it really useful upon launch,” Williams said. “It’s getting there.”
It’s like Yelp, but for LGBTQ-friendly physicians in the area. “It’s a very similar process,” Jeon noted. SpectrumScores’ database of LGBTQ-friendly physicians aims to cast a wide net for users to access. “What users can do is search our database and input their location, as well as a specialty they’re looking for, or a particular doctor they are looking for,” Jeon said. “Then what the algorithm will do is then generate a list of physicians given their specific query.”
After visiting a physician, a user can then leave a review and rating on the site. SpectrumScores is largely driven by user data, which makes sense. “We’re just trying to facilitate this process as much as possible so that it’s as easy as possible to find a competent provider that meets their needs,” Williams said. “These providers exist, there’s just no formal way of finding them, so we’re really hoping to give control over, and make it more of a transparent process and improve health care access to the LGBTQ community.”
A physician’s score is comprised of four metrics–although the application also incorporates other useful data for users, like types of accepted insurance and a physician’s affiliation with an LGBTQ organization.
Those metrics–providing a welcoming environment, inclusive processes, LGBTQ+ specific knowledge, and overall satisfaction–are what drives a physician’s score. More specifically, the database takes into account whether a physician’s office has prominently displayed nondiscrimination stickers and intake forms that include varying gender identities and sexual orientations.
It also considers whether a provider has therapies and medications that are particularly utilized by the LGBTQ community–like PrEP, hormone replacement therapy, and gender affirmation surgery. These ratings, then, begin to build a profile for other users to consider when choosing a physician. “We’re just trying to facilitate this process as much as possible so that it’s as easy as possible to find a competent provider that meets their needs,” Williams said.
It’s no secret LGBTQ folks are part of a marginalized community and face discrimination on many levels of society. For the founders of SpectrumScores, this truth resonates with them. From a young age, both Jain and Jeon recognized the discrimination the LGBTQ community experienced, and were empowered to become allies. “If you’re a member of the LGBT community, it’s unacceptable that you’re not being treated at the same standard as your non-LGBT peers,” Jain said. “There should be a solution already.”
As a member of the LGBTQ community, Williams has had both positive and negative health care experiences. “I’ve seen first-hand the really positive difference dealing with a provider who understands you and your unique needs can have,” Williams said.
Although there have been many strides towards equality and equity for the LGBTQ community, there are still disparities in many aspects of life–including that of health care. SpectrumScores aims to close that gap, and reframe how health care is provided.
“Our initial goal is to help patients connect to providers who are already providing great care for the LGBTQ community,” Williams said. “It shouldn’t be a matter of finding the physician in your area who provides LGBTQ-competent care, it should be the standard care.”
SpectrumScores is not yet live, but folks interested in using the app can register online and follow SpectrumScores on social media for updates. Additionally, users can fill out a form on the launch page to fill out a review, which will be integrated into the database once the app is officially launched.