Izzy Lowell S’97: Expanding Access to Gender-Affirming Care
As a physician who advocates for access to gender-affirming healthcare across the country, Izzy Lowell embodies the TMS value of “taking care.”
Izzy Lowell, MD, MBA, is a family physician and the founder of QMed, a telemedicine-based practice that provides gender-affirming care to transgender and nonbinary people across the country. She holds BA from Williams College, an MD from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, and an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business. After moving to Atlanta in 2013 to practice family medicine, Izzy founded Emory’s first-ever gender clinic. In 2017, she started QMed to meet the overwhelming need for accessible, affirming care in her community and beyond. Izzy’s work has been featured in a variety of publications, including The Atlantic, Mother Jones, Atlanta Magazine, and The Boston Globe.
F’22 students Jasper Karlson and Skye Mitchell spoke with Izzy when she visited campus to speak with the TMS community during their semester. Jasper and Skye’s piece was originally published in the Fall 2022 edition of Pearls and Seaweed, TMS’s alumni newsletter. It has been republished here with updated statistics.
“While many others at the hospital argued that there simply weren’t trans people in Atlanta that would take advantage of the gender-affirming care she offered, within weeks, the clinic was nearly at capacity, and it had the lowest no-show rate of any clinic at the hospital. It was a clear success by any measure.”
After returning to Vershire in August with her family for her 25th reunion, Izzy Lowell made a special trip to campus to meet with fall 2022 students for an afternoon talk and Q&A.
After graduating college, Izzy initially wanted to become an art curator, but ended up pursuing a career as a doctor. After completing her residency, she moved to Atlanta in 2013 to work at Emory University Hospital, and realized soon thereafter how limited and inaccessible trans-affirming care was in Atlanta. If such care didn’t exist in one of the most progressive cities in the South, she thought, how could trans people in less liberal and urban centers possibly find their way to good care?
Izzy decided to change this by opening a clinic within the hospital. While many others at the hospital argued that there simply weren’t trans people in Atlanta that would take advantage of the gender-affirming care she offered, within weeks, the clinic was nearly at capacity, and it had the lowest no-show rate of any clinic at the hospital. It was a clear success by any measure. As time went on, transgender people of all ages started traveling hours from other states to receive such basic care at the clinic. It became clear to Izzy how vital her work was, and she wanted to expand the reach of her practice.
In 2017, she started QMed. Originally it cared only for patients in Georgia and four surrounding states, but it has since grown, and it now provides access to essential hormone treatment for nearly 10,000 people across 47 states.
Izzy with F’22 students Wyatt, Skye, and Jasper during her visit to campus.
QMed has been offering telemedicine appointments since 2017 but has since pivoted to exclusively digital platforms. It’s become one of the most accessible ways for trans people across the country to receive the care they need. QMed is currently the only office in the country that offers telemedicine, takes insurance, and treats minors. Izzy has clearly established this practice at the forefront of the fight to treat transgender people of all ages with life-saving medicine.
Growing QMed to this point was not an easy journey by any means. Izzy cites the first year of the practice as one of the most difficult periods of her life. Between negotiating with insurance companies and learning how to start a business on her own, the early days were frustrating and all-consuming. The difficulties were further exacerbated by a limited budget.
From nights in Tobold to days spent on Garden Hill, Izzy credits her time at the Mountain School with so much. Her semester here gave her a supportive community that taught her how to make decisions that impact her business and career. While she might not be the art curator she initially envisioned herself to be, Izzy’s vision and dedication has transformed the lives of thousands transgender kids and adults all over the country.