Specialization in Modern Medicine and the Chain of Trust

Modern medicine involves receiving care from specialized professionals. In gender medicine, specialists primarily refer patients to other specialists who they trust to do their job properly. This concept is known as the 'chain of trust.' For example, a gender doctor may refer a patient to an endocrinologist who then prescribes hormones after verifying the initial diagnosis. Eventually, the patient may undergo surgery based on this chain of trust. The diffuse responsibility in this process leads to a situation where everyone involved feels less responsible for the eventual outcomes, such as a sterile adult, even though each step in the chain contributes to the final decision and impact on the patient.