January 19, 2026 • 31 mins
Dr. Paul Benson is the founder, owner, and Medical Director of Be Well Medical Center in Berkley, Michigan, a family medicine practice established 45 years ago. He is proud to share he was the first LGBTQ physician to open a medical practice in Metro Detroit, creating a safe, affirming space for patients of all backgrounds, especially those too often overlooked or mistreated in healthcare. While he did not set out to become an HIV specialist, the timing of opening his practice in 1980 placed him at the very beginning of the AIDS epidemic, when fear and stigma kept many providers from treating gay men. What began with caring for friends quickly grew into a trusted medical home for LGBTQ patients and a lifelong commitment to HIV medicine and advocacy.
In this candid conversation, Dr. Benson and Dr. Joe Kort reflect on the early years of the epidemic, the loneliness many patients endured, and the enormous changes that arrived as treatments evolved and prevention became possible. Dr. Benson explains why HIV care is an intellectual challenge, not just medically, but emotionally and psychologically, because great care requires seeing the whole person, including mental health. They also discuss today’s realities. PrEP is highly effective, but many people who could benefit from it still are not using it consistently. Dr. Benson shares optimism about long acting injectable prevention options and the future of cure research, and he gives a clear, reassuring answer to a question Joe hears often. If someone is not having intercourse, do they need PrEP or other HIV prevention medications? His answer is no.
The episode also dives into gender affirming care and what responsible, ethical transgender healthcare actually looks like in a primary care setting. Dr. Benson talks about his decades of experience providing hormone therapy, why careful lab monitoring matters, the risks of using higher than recommended dosing, and his measured approach to puberty blockers and surgical interventions for adolescents. He closes with a message he wants every listener to hear. Mental health is a vital part of total healthcare, and patients deserve a strong support team, including providers who collaborate and patients who advocate for themselves, and who cancel appointments when they cannot make them.
Listen to this Smart Sex, Smart Love episode as Dr. Joe Kort talks with Dr. Paul Benson about LGBTQ affirming primary care, the evolution of HIV treatment and prevention, the reality behind transgender medicine, and why mental health support belongs in every healthcare plan.
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JOE KORT (00:00):
Hello everyone, and welcome to Smart sex, smart
(00:08):
love, where talking about sexgoes beyond the taboo and
talking about love goes beyondthe honeymoon. My guest today is
Dr Paul Benson, the founder,owner and medical director of be
well, Medical Center inBerkeley, Michigan, a family
medicine practice established 45years ago. He is proud to say
that he was the first LGBTQphysician to open a medical
(00:30):
practice in Metro Detroit. Heand his team have taken
tremendous pride in theirhistory of creating a safe space
for people of all backgrounds,particularly those who
traditionally have beenneglected by the healthcare
industry. When he started hiscareer, Dr Benson did not
anticipate HIV medicine wouldbecome one of his life passions.
Dr Benson has been on theforefront in the battle against
(00:53):
HIV even before the terms HIVand AIDS existed. He is
accredited as an HIV specialistby the American Academy of HIV
medicine, and has publishedextensively in the medical
journals, serves as a nationalspeaker on several health
related issues, and has been theprincipal investigator for
dozens of therapeutic drugtrials in the HIV field. Today,
(01:16):
Dr Benson will talk about how hestarted his LGBTQ practice, his
clinical research on HIV, drugs,transgender care and the
importance of mental healthservices in primary care.
Welcome Paul,
DR. PAUL BENSON (01:28):
Thank you, Joe.
A pleasure to be here.
It's a pleasure to have youhere. I've known you all those
45 years. I've been in thefield, well, 40 years, but I
remember hearing about youbefore I got in the field.
Yes. Time goes by very quickly.
JOE KORT (01:40):
It goes by really quickly, and you've always been,
you know, I always rememberpeople saying, I have my regular
doctor and then I have my gaydoctor. And you were their gay
doctor because they weren'tcomfortable talking to their
regular doctors about gay stuff.
DR. PAUL BENSON (01:52):
Yeah, I used to be a clandestine doctor. Many
years ago, there was a largerpopulation of bisexual married
men. In fact, there was abisexual, married men's group,
and what you're saying is true.
A lot of people had two doctors,and one didn't know the other.
Thank goodness, it's improvedover it's improved over the
years, and that more people arenow more comfortable identifying
(02:16):
as being gay. Back in 2026compared to the 1960s and 1970s
and so there's less of that, andthat's important, because a
doctor should know everythingabout you to be able to keep you
in the best health
JOE KORT (02:34):
I used to always worry about that.
DR. PAUL BENSON (02:36):
Doctors, I'm sorry I got a frog in my throat
a lot of times. Doctors, youknow, sweep the sexual health
under the rug. They don't wantto discuss it for a variety of
reasons and and that's animportant part of people's
lives, especially when it comesto STI and HIV prevention, and
especially nowadays, we haveprep available, and the doctor
(02:59):
doesn't know that somebody'shaving behaviors that put them
at risk for HIV, they're notgoing to bring up their
conversation proactively.
JOE KORT (03:06):
Yes, I would think a lot of people make you their
primary doctor today and nothave to go to two anymore.
DR. PAUL BENSON (03:12):
Yeah, they do.
Many people, many of mypatients, start with me as being
that second doctor and theneventually convert the whole
thing over to us for theirprimary care. I love that. It's
probably part of the coming outprocess. Yeah. And, you know,
years ago, I used to think thatit was alright to have a doctor
that was a specialist in LGBTQissues, but I've done 180 degree
(03:34):
turn on that, because reallyit's, better to have one doing
everything, as long as thatdoctor is capable to do it.
JOE KORT (03:45):
I agree. All right, we'll start with telling us how
you chose the medical field asyour career, and if you met with
any opposition when establishingLGBTQ friendly practice.
DR. PAUL BENSON (03:56):
Well, I never really planned to be an HIV
specialist. But back in mytraining, HIV wasn't even in
existence at that time. I alwayswanted to be a DR MARCUS Well,
be a be well doctor, take careof families and just be a
regular general practitioner.
However, when I put out myshingle in 1980 that was right
at the very beginning of the HIVepidemic, and at that time, a
(04:20):
lot of doctors were afraid tosee people living with with that
time, they called it grit, gayrelated immunodeficiency
disorder. And a lot of peoplestarted coming into me, started
with my friends, and then myfriend's friends, and then I
just developed into an LGBTQpractice. It just, it just came
(04:41):
out that way. It's not somethingI really planned on. I'm really
fortunate that I came about whenI did. I think coming in at the
beginning of the AIDS epidemicmade me a much better position,
a much more empathetic position.
Back in those times, we had zerotreatments for HIV. It was
(05:06):
basically taking care ofsomebody, and if they lived a
year or two, we thought theywere doing good. And there was a
lot more stigma. Not to say thatthere's not any stigma now,
there certainly is, but therecertainly was a lot more of it,
and I tend to look at the glassas being half full rather than
half empty. But I can't tell youthe number of times that I would
(05:28):
have to call a family member andsay, you know, your son is in
the hospital. He just passedaway, and they never knew he was
gay. They never knew he had AIDSand I think that person died a
lot in loneliness, and if theyhad supportive family, were out
and open at that time, I reallybelieve the results would be
(05:48):
different than many of themcould have survived those
opportunistic diseases.
JOE KORT (05:52):
I remember it vividly.
I remember how horrible it was,but I also remember thinking
because, you know, thenreporters and newscasters would
be in the hospitals, in thehomes of these gay men who had
HIV. And I remember thinking,wow, we're we're getting all
this visibility. It was ahorrible way to get it, but I
feel like it added to people'scomfort level of just seeing gay
men. Would you agree with that?
DR. PAUL BENSON (06:16):
I think, with some people, but I think, you
know, a lot of people back inthe 80s and the 90s, felt that
people living with HIV, theydeserved it. They were
different. God, striking themdown for being gay. So there was
a mix of it. Yeah, I've had anumber of families, one that you
(06:37):
know, my practice today and backthen is very eclectic. I have
gay people, straight people, weall get along with each other,
and I just love it. I love itthat way. We're nothing unique.
Somebody can come in the officeand not be recognized as living
with HIV, not being identifiedas LGBTQ, but just as a person,
(06:57):
which is really how it shouldbe, all over the place. But, you
know, usually it's not. And Ihad one guy that I thought was
really very homophobic hisfamily, and he came to me after
many years and wanted to donatea wheelchair to me, and, you
know, told me that his brotherwas gay and had passed away
living in a different city. AndI was totally, you know,
flabbergasted that this man, youknow, congratulated me and
(07:20):
thanked me for the courage ofseeing HIV patients and LGBTQ
and again, that's, you know,before it was more accepted,
I've had other people, a verygreat family, back in probably
1990 that he was a policeofficer in the city of Detroit,
him and his family came To meand he found out that, you know,
(07:42):
that I was taking care ofbottom, LGBTQ and AIDS, and you
know, he had the courage to cometo me and say, I don't feel
comfortable coming to yourpractice anymore because of the
people that you serve. And asmuch as I didn't like that, I,
you know, I was happy that he atleast had the courage to come
(08:03):
and tell me that, rather thanjust go away in the oblivion and
me never know what happened tohim.
JOE KORT (08:08):
Right, you like the directness.
DR. PAUL BENSON (08:09):
Yeah, absolutely. So I, you know, I
respected him for that, not forhis decision, but I respected
him for at least coming to tellme. And I'm sure, in the
beginning, and maybe now aswell, I lose a lot of you know,
straight patients that come tomy practice find out it's LGBTQ
and decide it's, you know, notright for them. We probably have
(08:30):
a, you know, LGBTQ flag hangingunderneath the American flag,
you know, probably displayedright on 11 mile road for
everybody to see. And I'vetransformed too over the years.
Back in the 1980s and 1990s Itook care of a lot of
transgender individuals. Had noproblem doing it, but because my
(08:53):
practice was so eclectic,sometimes I was worried I'd have
a transgender that maybe did nothave the body changes to go
along with their desired sex.
And, you know, looked look badfor the gender that they wanted
to be. And my philosophy backthen was, well, get them in
Quick, take care of them, and,you know, send them on their way
(09:14):
that we didn't want them in thewaiting room that long for an
image that it may spell and, youknow, probably 1520, years ago,
I said, the hell with that. Idon't really care what anybody
looks like. If somebody doesn'twant to come to see me, we're
way more busy than we need tobe, then it's a free world. Go
somewhere else, exactly. So, Imean, I've had a metamorphosis
on that as well. Being a LGBTQprovider has really changed me
(09:38):
in a lot of ways, and I'm reallyhappy that I came to be a
physician when I did, because itmade me a much more empathetic
and better doctor. People usedto think that dying,
JOE KORT (09:51):
I know people used to think that, because I specialize
in LGBT, from the beginning,that my I would ghettoize my
practice, but I never did. Ialways had more straight than
gay, always, and I'm sure I,too, had people leave because it
was I was promoting LGBT stuff.
But I don't think it happenedthat much. It probably didn't
happen as much as you think itdid to you either.
DR. PAUL BENSON (10:13):
I hope not. I hope not.
JOE KORT (10:15):
When you say you call HIV an intellectual challenge,
what do you mean by that?
DR. PAUL BENSON (10:21):
I did? You know it's it's an intellectual
challenge, because there's manyfacets of taking care of
somebody. There are some doctorsor providers that just
concentrate on the physicalsymptoms or dispensing
medications HIV, medications totreat HIV. But when somebody
(10:46):
comes into the office, we seethem as a snapshot of their
lives and their whole people andhow they identify as being gay,
the psychological being is avery important part of their
total health care, and a lot ofdoctors, you know, skip over
that mental health thing. And wesee far more patients than I'd
(11:10):
like to that have mental healthchallenges, but they prefer to
concentrate on the physicalchallenges rather than the
mental health ones, and for adoctor, it's much easier to
treat a sore throat or treatsomething else, prescribe
medication and send them ontheir way, because it's quick,
(11:30):
and it takes time to really getto know a person and understand
their mental health and pointthem in that direction. And I
think that's why it's importantyou know that we have mental
health professionals such asyourself that we can refer to,
because your model of careallows that time to have all
that discussion where, in a busymedical practice, it's
(11:51):
difficult, so it's, it's, it'svery complex and intellectually
challenging to provide good careto somebody living with HIV
because they got all these otherancillary issues that a good
healthcare provider really needsto delve into, because that's
that's part of their totalhealthcare
JOE KORT (12:09):
That makes total sense. What was it like for you
when the meds started changingand people were starting to live
longer, and then again, the medschanged and you could prevent
HIV transmission? That had to bea mind blowing for you?
DR. PAUL BENSON (12:23):
Yeah, I feel so fortunate to be around at the
beginning of an epidemic, tobeing around at the end of an
epidemic, and clearly we're atthe end stages. There's some
cure research going on rightnow. We've applied to do a
clinical trial for cureresearch. I hope we get that
trial HIV prevention iscertainly there. For there to be
(12:47):
eradication of AIDS, we need tohave both great treatment, which
we do have, and greatprevention, which we do have.
But the uptake of HIV preventionis far less than what we would
desire to be. I've heard like 25of individuals that are at risk
(13:09):
for acquiring HIV are actuallyon PrEP. And maybe that could
be, you know, young people,adolescents they live with, they
have that underdevelopedprefrontal cortex, and they say,
oh, it's, it can never happen tome. Always is going to happen to
somebody else. And I'msurprised. We see lots of new
patients with HIV that couldhave been preventive if they had
(13:32):
taken that step to go on PrEP.
PrEP works. Prep is about 99%effective. It works. But you got
to take it. If you don't takethe medication, it's difficult,
and for a young, healthy personto take a pill every day is
challenging. They have busylives. They may not go to the
pharmacy get the refills. Whoknows what the reasons are, but
you know, they stop taking them.
(13:55):
They don't come in for theirappointments, for follow up, to
get a new refill. Thank goodnesswe now have injectable, long
acting injectables for PrEP.
JOE KORT (14:04):
Yes.
DR. PAUL BENSON (14:05):
For patients can come in every two months.
There's going to be one comingout, because you can come in
every six months for treatment.
Actually, that that is out.
There's another one that we'reactually doing clinical research
on. There'll be a once a yearinjection. So those are going to
be game changers. We needprevention with good treatment.
That's the way we're going toget eradication.
JOE KORT (14:26):
I get this question a lot, and I'm so glad to have you
to ask here on this podcast. Butyou know, I'm a side. I coined
the term side, and I talk aboutand promote helping people who
feel shame about just engagingin outer course, if, well,
people will often ask me is, doI need to be on PrEP? Do I need
to be on Doxy? Do I need to haveanti a, anti HIV, transmission
(14:48):
drugs if I'm not havingintercourse? Well, how do you
answer that?
DR. PAUL BENSON (14:51):
The answer is, the answer is, No, you do not
those behaviors are not puttinganybody at risk.
JOE KORT (15:00):
That's so helpful, because I absolutely believe
that's probably why I'm alivetoday, because back in the day,
I had hundreds of partners,hundreds but it was all outer.
Course, it was all sidebehavior, no no intercourse. I
think if I had done that, Iwould have probably contracted
it.
DR. PAUL BENSON (15:14):
Sure, I count my blessings, because I came out
in the 1980s and I spent a sixmonth rotation in 1980 in San
Francisco at the Haight Ashburyfree medical clinic. That's
really where I got my foundationfor learning about treating STIs
and learning to treat the LGBTQcommunity. If I had been out in
(15:35):
1980 living in the in theepicenter for HIV San Francisco
in 1980 I'm sure I would havecontracted it as well.
JOE KORT (15:45):
Well, we were both lucky, really,
DR. PAUL BENSON (15:46):
Yeah, and that's all it is, is luck.
JOE KORT (15:48):
I know.
DR. PAUL BENSON (15:49):
You know, people have the shame of
thinking they're, they're dirtyor something's wrong with them,
if they're, if they get infectedwith HIV, you know, it's, it's
just bad luck. You know, it'sjust really not that you're a
bad person, right?
JOE KORT (16:02):
I love that you're saying that. So let's go back to
transgender care. You knowthat's a big deal these days.
Talked about in politics and youknow, our in the culture, will
you talk about the services youprovide in the philosophy of be
well, your practice regardingthe decision to transition.
DR. PAUL BENSON (16:18):
I have been practicing gender affirming
hormone therapy with patientssince early 1980 and we've
always had a smattering, not toomany, probably 95% of them were
transgender women, biologic men,transgender women. And boy. Has
(16:40):
that changed in the last year ortwo? We are seeing many
transgender men now. We'reseeing young individuals,
teenagers coming in with theirparents support, with their
parents in the room. I don'tquite understand why there's
(17:01):
such a huge influx? Are peoplefeeling more comfortable being
transgender now that they cancome out? I think it's probably
multifactorial. I have had someyoung individuals coming in
believing they were transgender,then changing their mind shortly
thereafter. So one patientthat's probably one of my
(17:25):
favorites is I call my littledroogie. Was a transgender male,
and when, when he came in withhis mother, as I tell everybody,
they thought a contract so theyknow what we do and what we
don't do. And this was a 16 yearold, and one of the things I
tell them is, I will not supportany surgical reassignment
(17:46):
surgery of any type until theage of 19. That's just what I
do. And they came in to me. I'dknown them for about a year, and
droogie wanted to get amastectomy, a bilateral
mastectomy, and I said,Remember, I told you, I'm not
going to support it. You're only17. I said, You've got plenty of
(18:07):
time. Well, they yelled at me,and the mother yelled at me, and
I thought I was going to losehim as a patient, but I
steadfast. They came back threemonths later, and my little
droogie decided not to betransgender and found a
boyfriend, and, you know,decided, you know, not not to be
(18:27):
transgender anymore. So thereare so many reasons for why some
people, especially young people,choose to be transgender. For
many of them, it's not a choice.
They're born that way. It isinnate. I get it, but there are
some where there really is achoice. And sometimes they see
some of their friends aretransgender, and they, quote,
(18:50):
unquote, decide to betransgender too. So on a young
person, we make sure that theysee somebody such as yourself or
mental health, I tell them thatbeing transgender is something
that comes from your heart andthat we don't have to go on a
hormone affirming therapy rightaway. And I let them explore. I
mean, I get older people thatare coming in, maybe they're a
(19:14):
little bit confused too, butmost individuals that come to
me, they clearly know thatthey're in the wrong phenotype
of their body, and they clearlyknow they're transgender, and,
you know, we prescribe hormoneaffirming therapy for them and
surgical intervention aftereverybody feels comfortable that
this is a permanent thing. Buton children, it's it's a little
(19:37):
bit more challenging and and Ijust don't believe in rushing to
surgical intervention. I justdon't hormonal affirming
therapy. Yes.
JOE KORT (19:48):
How do you feel about puberty blockers?
DR. PAUL BENSON (19:52):
I try not to use them. I've used them in some
cases. Sometimes it could beirreversible. The other thing
that I don't really like aboutit is that it closes up growth
plates earlier, and so somebodycould be of short statue. If you
have a transgender man and youput on puberty blockers, their
(20:15):
growth is going to be stunted.
And should they choose at somepoint in time afterwards not to
be transgender anymore. They'restuck with the effects of what
the puberty blockers did. I'mjust not sure the benefits
exceed the risks of usingpuberty blockers. If a child is
confused and you want to delaypuberty for a short period of
(20:36):
time, I could see using pubertyblockers, and that's when I do
use them, if there's not anyevidence of any confusion or
whatever. I just don't thinkthat puberty blockers have a lot
to offer, offer at a young age.
JOE KORT (20:52):
You've noted also that there's improper use of hormone
affirmative therapy, that itincreases the risk for many
medical conditions. Can you talkabout that?
DR. PAUL BENSON (21:01):
Absolutely, it's extremely important that
anybody on gender affirminghormone therapy get blood work
on a regular basis. For atransgender man, if you're
giving somebody testosterone, itcan cause liver disease, it can
cause acne. It can cause we'veheard of roid rage. It can cause
(21:23):
behavioral changes. It can causea stroke from from high blood
pressure in trans women,estrogen could possibly cause
cancers in the body. There'sjust no long term studies on
that. It can cause strokes ifyou have somebody that's on
estrogen therapy and smokecigarettes, their risk for
(21:47):
having a stroke or a heartattack is extremely elevated. So
all these parameters need to belooked at with very little
exception, most of mytransgender individuals live
with the motto that more isbetter and they want super
(22:09):
physiologic doses oftestosterone, testosterone or
estrogen, thinking that more isbetter and they're going to get
to their desired effect sooner.
Well, more is associated withincreased complications and side
effects. There are many patientsthat listen to things on the
internet and listen to theirfriends and they say, Well, my
(22:30):
friend is on X, Y and Z. Whyaren't you giving me that my
goal in therapy is to makehormone levels the appropriate
amount of the desired sex theywant to be for that age. And one
example is progesterone. Ireally don't approve of
progesterone. I use it a littlebit. Progesterone causes mood
(22:52):
changes, and that's a hormonethat surges in cisgender women
before they have menstruation,it's an anti estrogen. It causes
the uterus to slough cells, andthat's why women, biological
women have have menstruation, ormenstrual periods, monthly.
Well, a transgender female isnot going to have a period. They
(23:15):
don't have a uterus, and to givethem progesterone, which is anti
estrogen. All you're doing isadding side effects. And you're
not really, you're not really,it's not really any benefit.
JOE KORT (23:29):
I love how measured you are about all this. You
know, what do you think when youwatch the news or you hear all
this buzz about, you know,doctors are being irresponsible
and they're just cutting upchildren and mutilating. And
what do you respond? How do yourespond to that?
DR. PAUL BENSON (23:43):
You know, Joe, I only hear what I hear on the
news, and that's taken with amultiple grains of salt. I
myself am not really familiarwith that, but I don't believe
in reassignment surgery for anadolescent, I don't, I really
just don't think there's a rushand if, if, and I don't know
(24:06):
this for a fact, but I've heardit the same as you, if young,
pubescent children are havingsurgical intervention at that
young age, I'm not in favor ofit. You can be a full
transgender individual and nothave surgical intervention as a
child. Wait, wait until youbecome adult that you're really
(24:28):
sure I had a transgender womanthat I'd taken care of for about
30 years. She wound up having apulmonary embolism as a
complication of her estrogentherapy. She was taken off of
it. She did well. She came backin. I said, Well, I said, Do you
want to restart the estrogen?
I'm ready to restart on you. Shegoes, No, I don't really need it
(24:49):
anymore. And that's true whenyou're when you're a biologic
female, when you're in your 60sor 70s, your hormone level is
low anyway, that's just anatural aging process. So
there's really very little, I'mnot going to say none, but
there's little benefit of givingsomebody extra large doses of
estrogen that would be higherthan what their normal age would
(25:11):
require to be. So she's 100% atransgender woman, and she's not
on estrogen. She chooses not tobe. And I think that's great.
And I think you and I both knowthat as an LGBTQ or as a
transgender individual, it'swhat's in your heart that's
really what dictate dictates it.
(25:33):
It's really not necessarily yourphenotype or what your body
looks like. It's how you act andhow you feel, and you can feel
that without having to be onhormones
JOE KORT (25:42):
100%. You have and we heard him bark a little bit ago.
You have a golden retriever,Baxter, who's part of your team.
How do patients react to the dogin your office?
DR. PAUL BENSON (25:52):
They love him.
Unfortunately, Baxter may Restin Pieces in doggy heaven.
JOE KORT (25:56):
Oh.
DR. PAUL BENSON (25:57):
He passed away three years ago, but he was
clearly the mascot of theoffice. He had an innate ability
to know who he should see andwho he shouldn't see. And so
many times I would go in a roomand he'd be getting a belly rub
from a patient. But I do haveBowie, who's around here
somewhere, that Bowie comes tothe office every day. The
(26:17):
patients love him. He's threeand a half years old, a little
bit in the wild side. The GoldenRetrievers usually are until
they're about five. But he's agood boy, and he's developing to
be a good patient ambassador aswell.
JOE KORT (26:30):
How long did Baxter live?
DR. PAUL BENSON (26:32):
Baxter lived to just under 12.
JOE KORT (26:34):
Okay.
DR. PAUL BENSON (26:35):
And he had a good life.
JOE KORT (26:36):
What would you that we did? What did we not talk about
that you want to leave listenerswith, that you want to say on
the final thoughts?
DR. PAUL BENSON (26:46):
That mental health is an important part of
total health care, and that manypatients are resistant To
getting mental health, andespecially when they come in
with quote, unquote,psychosomatic symptoms all the
(27:06):
time, and get test after testafter test, and you mention it
to them that you know, maybe youshould see a therapist. A lot of
times, there's resentment, likeyou don't believe me, well, it's
not a question, not believingit's a question that every
individual should assemble forthemselves a good health care
(27:29):
professional team, and that mayinclude your dentist, your
doctor, your primary caredoctor, maybe an infectious
disease specialist, a mentalhealth therapist, whatever else
it should be, surround yourselfwith a good a good team, also a
patient advocate. There'snothing wrong, and I think it's
(27:52):
healthy when a patient goes tosee me or any doctor that they
bring a significant other in theroom with them, if anything
else, in all honesty, the personthe patient then gets more
respect and time from thatprovider. It's just the truth of
the matter, if they havesomebody else in the room with
them, that makes sense.
JOE KORT (28:13):
Where can people find you?
DR. PAUL BENSON (28:16):
Um, I'm in Berkeley, Michigan, on 11 Mile
Road, Be Well Medical Center.
I'm in a lot of the magazines,the LGBTQ, between the lines,
etc. I'm in the phone book. Iknow you have my number. I have
your number. I'm glad that wecan really partnership, because
that is really great when youand I share the same patient,
that we can collaboratetogether, that everybody really
(28:40):
knows what's going on. I likethat difficult to find.
JOE KORT (28:44):
Yeah, no, you're not.
And we're going to put up allyour, you know, your website and
all the internet information aswell. And I want to full
disclosure to everybody. I go toyour center too. I see one of
your pas Calib, am I saying hisname? Right? Caleb, right? I
don't know why I was thinking,Caleb, I love him. He's been
with you a long time.
DR. PAUL BENSON (29:03):
Yes, Caleb's been with me for about 15 years.
All my providers have been withme for a while. We're growing.
We just brought in anotherphysician assistant because
we're getting larger and larger,and we don't like it when
somebody wants to come in for anurgent same day visit, we have
to tell them no because we'rebooked. Yeah, one other thing I
(29:25):
can't say, Joe, since I want totake any venue, I can to say
this. It's extremely importantfor any person that's seen a
healthcare provider, provider,whether it be psychologist or
primary care, if they cannotmake an appointment, to call and
cancel it. The health of thehealth of the be well Medical
Center is really beingcompromised right now because
(29:47):
patients just don't show up fortheir appointment. They don't
give that courtesy. And we havea waiting list of people every
day that we can get in lastminute for an urgent care visit.
So I'd like to take thisopportunity to let people know,
regardless of who your provideris, if you can't make an
appointment, we understand stuffhappens, but if you can't make
(30:10):
an appointment, call and letthem know you need to reschedule
or cancel, it really makes a bigdifference.
JOE KORT (30:17):
I'm so glad you're here as a local referral and a
local resource, and thank you somuch for being on my show.
DR. PAUL BENSON (30:22):
My pleasure. It was fun.
JOE KORT (30:24):
All right, so you can hear more of my podcast at
www.smartsexsmartlove.com, andyou can also find me and follow
me anywhere on the internet. Ifyou're on Twitter, TikTok,
Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn,it's all @DrJoeKort D, R, J, O,
E, K, O, R, T, and also, you canfind me on my website,
www.joeort.com. Until next time,be safe, stay healthy, and I'll
(30:48):
see you next time.
DR. PAUL BENSON (30:50):
Take care, Joe.
JOE KORT (30:51):
All right.
Hello everyone, and welcome to Smart sex, smart
(00:08):
love, where talking about sexgoes beyond the taboo and
talking about love goes beyondthe honeymoon. My guest today is
Dr Paul Benson, the founder,owner and medical director of be
well, Medical Center inBerkeley, Michigan, a family
medicine practice established 45years ago. He is proud to say
that he was the first LGBTQphysician to open a medical
(00:30):
practice in Metro Detroit. Heand his team have taken
tremendous pride in theirhistory of creating a safe space
for people of all backgrounds,particularly those who
traditionally have beenneglected by the healthcare
industry. When he started hiscareer, Dr Benson did not
anticipate HIV medicine wouldbecome one of his life passions.
Dr Benson has been on theforefront in the battle against
(00:53):
HIV even before the terms HIVand AIDS existed. He is
accredited as an HIV specialistby the American Academy of HIV
medicine, and has publishedextensively in the medical
journals, serves as a nationalspeaker on several health
related issues, and has been theprincipal investigator for
dozens of therapeutic drugtrials in the HIV field. Today,
(01:16):
Dr Benson will talk about how hestarted his LGBTQ practice, his
clinical research on HIV, drugs,transgender care and the
importance of mental healthservices in primary care.
Welcome Paul,
DR. PAUL BENSON (01:28):
Thank you, Joe.
A pleasure to be here.
It's a pleasure to have youhere. I've known you all those
45 years. I've been in thefield, well, 40 years, but I
remember hearing about youbefore I got in the field.
Yes. Time goes by very quickly.
JOE KORT (01:40):
It goes by really quickly, and you've always been,
you know, I always rememberpeople saying, I have my regular
doctor and then I have my gaydoctor. And you were their gay
doctor because they weren'tcomfortable talking to their
regular doctors about gay stuff.
DR. PAUL BENSON (01:52):
Yeah, I used to be a clandestine doctor. Many
years ago, there was a largerpopulation of bisexual married
men. In fact, there was abisexual, married men's group,
and what you're saying is true.
A lot of people had two doctors,and one didn't know the other.
Thank goodness, it's improvedover it's improved over the
years, and that more people arenow more comfortable identifying
(02:16):
as being gay. Back in 2026compared to the 1960s and 1970s
and so there's less of that, andthat's important, because a
doctor should know everythingabout you to be able to keep you
in the best health
JOE KORT (02:34):
I used to always worry about that.
DR. PAUL BENSON (02:36):
Doctors, I'm sorry I got a frog in my throat
a lot of times. Doctors, youknow, sweep the sexual health
under the rug. They don't wantto discuss it for a variety of
reasons and and that's animportant part of people's
lives, especially when it comesto STI and HIV prevention, and
especially nowadays, we haveprep available, and the doctor
(02:59):
doesn't know that somebody'shaving behaviors that put them
at risk for HIV, they're notgoing to bring up their
conversation proactively.
JOE KORT (03:06):
Yes, I would think a lot of people make you their
primary doctor today and nothave to go to two anymore.
DR. PAUL BENSON (03:12):
Yeah, they do.
Many people, many of mypatients, start with me as being
that second doctor and theneventually convert the whole
thing over to us for theirprimary care. I love that. It's
probably part of the coming outprocess. Yeah. And, you know,
years ago, I used to think thatit was alright to have a doctor
that was a specialist in LGBTQissues, but I've done 180 degree
(03:34):
turn on that, because reallyit's, better to have one doing
everything, as long as thatdoctor is capable to do it.
JOE KORT (03:45):
I agree. All right, we'll start with telling us how
you chose the medical field asyour career, and if you met with
any opposition when establishingLGBTQ friendly practice.
DR. PAUL BENSON (03:56):
Well, I never really planned to be an HIV
specialist. But back in mytraining, HIV wasn't even in
existence at that time. I alwayswanted to be a DR MARCUS Well,
be a be well doctor, take careof families and just be a
regular general practitioner.
However, when I put out myshingle in 1980 that was right
at the very beginning of the HIVepidemic, and at that time, a
(04:20):
lot of doctors were afraid tosee people living with with that
time, they called it grit, gayrelated immunodeficiency
disorder. And a lot of peoplestarted coming into me, started
with my friends, and then myfriend's friends, and then I
just developed into an LGBTQpractice. It just, it just came
(04:41):
out that way. It's not somethingI really planned on. I'm really
fortunate that I came about whenI did. I think coming in at the
beginning of the AIDS epidemicmade me a much better position,
a much more empathetic position.
Back in those times, we had zerotreatments for HIV. It was
(05:06):
basically taking care ofsomebody, and if they lived a
year or two, we thought theywere doing good. And there was a
lot more stigma. Not to say thatthere's not any stigma now,
there certainly is, but therecertainly was a lot more of it,
and I tend to look at the glassas being half full rather than
half empty. But I can't tell youthe number of times that I would
(05:28):
have to call a family member andsay, you know, your son is in
the hospital. He just passedaway, and they never knew he was
gay. They never knew he had AIDSand I think that person died a
lot in loneliness, and if theyhad supportive family, were out
and open at that time, I reallybelieve the results would be
(05:48):
different than many of themcould have survived those
opportunistic diseases.
JOE KORT (05:52):
I remember it vividly.
I remember how horrible it was,but I also remember thinking
because, you know, thenreporters and newscasters would
be in the hospitals, in thehomes of these gay men who had
HIV. And I remember thinking,wow, we're we're getting all
this visibility. It was ahorrible way to get it, but I
feel like it added to people'scomfort level of just seeing gay
men. Would you agree with that?
DR. PAUL BENSON (06:16):
I think, with some people, but I think, you
know, a lot of people back inthe 80s and the 90s, felt that
people living with HIV, theydeserved it. They were
different. God, striking themdown for being gay. So there was
a mix of it. Yeah, I've had anumber of families, one that you
(06:37):
know, my practice today and backthen is very eclectic. I have
gay people, straight people, weall get along with each other,
and I just love it. I love itthat way. We're nothing unique.
Somebody can come in the officeand not be recognized as living
with HIV, not being identifiedas LGBTQ, but just as a person,
(06:57):
which is really how it shouldbe, all over the place. But, you
know, usually it's not. And Ihad one guy that I thought was
really very homophobic hisfamily, and he came to me after
many years and wanted to donatea wheelchair to me, and, you
know, told me that his brotherwas gay and had passed away
living in a different city. AndI was totally, you know,
flabbergasted that this man, youknow, congratulated me and
(07:20):
thanked me for the courage ofseeing HIV patients and LGBTQ
and again, that's, you know,before it was more accepted,
I've had other people, a verygreat family, back in probably
1990 that he was a policeofficer in the city of Detroit,
him and his family came To meand he found out that, you know,
(07:42):
that I was taking care ofbottom, LGBTQ and AIDS, and you
know, he had the courage to cometo me and say, I don't feel
comfortable coming to yourpractice anymore because of the
people that you serve. And asmuch as I didn't like that, I,
you know, I was happy that he atleast had the courage to come
(08:03):
and tell me that, rather thanjust go away in the oblivion and
me never know what happened tohim.
JOE KORT (08:08):
Right, you like the directness.
DR. PAUL BENSON (08:09):
Yeah, absolutely. So I, you know, I
respected him for that, not forhis decision, but I respected
him for at least coming to tellme. And I'm sure, in the
beginning, and maybe now aswell, I lose a lot of you know,
straight patients that come tomy practice find out it's LGBTQ
and decide it's, you know, notright for them. We probably have
(08:30):
a, you know, LGBTQ flag hangingunderneath the American flag,
you know, probably displayedright on 11 mile road for
everybody to see. And I'vetransformed too over the years.
Back in the 1980s and 1990s Itook care of a lot of
transgender individuals. Had noproblem doing it, but because my
(08:53):
practice was so eclectic,sometimes I was worried I'd have
a transgender that maybe did nothave the body changes to go
along with their desired sex.
And, you know, looked look badfor the gender that they wanted
to be. And my philosophy backthen was, well, get them in
Quick, take care of them, and,you know, send them on their way
(09:14):
that we didn't want them in thewaiting room that long for an
image that it may spell and, youknow, probably 1520, years ago,
I said, the hell with that. Idon't really care what anybody
looks like. If somebody doesn'twant to come to see me, we're
way more busy than we need tobe, then it's a free world. Go
somewhere else, exactly. So, Imean, I've had a metamorphosis
on that as well. Being a LGBTQprovider has really changed me
(09:38):
in a lot of ways, and I'm reallyhappy that I came to be a
physician when I did, because itmade me a much more empathetic
and better doctor. People usedto think that dying,
JOE KORT (09:51):
I know people used to think that, because I specialize
in LGBT, from the beginning,that my I would ghettoize my
practice, but I never did. Ialways had more straight than
gay, always, and I'm sure I,too, had people leave because it
was I was promoting LGBT stuff.
But I don't think it happenedthat much. It probably didn't
happen as much as you think itdid to you either.
DR. PAUL BENSON (10:13):
I hope not. I hope not.
JOE KORT (10:15):
When you say you call HIV an intellectual challenge,
what do you mean by that?
DR. PAUL BENSON (10:21):
I did? You know it's it's an intellectual
challenge, because there's manyfacets of taking care of
somebody. There are some doctorsor providers that just
concentrate on the physicalsymptoms or dispensing
medications HIV, medications totreat HIV. But when somebody
(10:46):
comes into the office, we seethem as a snapshot of their
lives and their whole people andhow they identify as being gay,
the psychological being is avery important part of their
total health care, and a lot ofdoctors, you know, skip over
that mental health thing. And wesee far more patients than I'd
(11:10):
like to that have mental healthchallenges, but they prefer to
concentrate on the physicalchallenges rather than the
mental health ones, and for adoctor, it's much easier to
treat a sore throat or treatsomething else, prescribe
medication and send them ontheir way, because it's quick,
(11:30):
and it takes time to really getto know a person and understand
their mental health and pointthem in that direction. And I
think that's why it's importantyou know that we have mental
health professionals such asyourself that we can refer to,
because your model of careallows that time to have all
that discussion where, in a busymedical practice, it's
(11:51):
difficult, so it's, it's, it'svery complex and intellectually
challenging to provide good careto somebody living with HIV
because they got all these otherancillary issues that a good
healthcare provider really needsto delve into, because that's
that's part of their totalhealthcare
JOE KORT (12:09):
That makes total sense. What was it like for you
when the meds started changingand people were starting to live
longer, and then again, the medschanged and you could prevent
HIV transmission? That had to bea mind blowing for you?
DR. PAUL BENSON (12:23):
Yeah, I feel so fortunate to be around at the
beginning of an epidemic, tobeing around at the end of an
epidemic, and clearly we're atthe end stages. There's some
cure research going on rightnow. We've applied to do a
clinical trial for cureresearch. I hope we get that
trial HIV prevention iscertainly there. For there to be
(12:47):
eradication of AIDS, we need tohave both great treatment, which
we do have, and greatprevention, which we do have.
But the uptake of HIV preventionis far less than what we would
desire to be. I've heard like 25of individuals that are at risk
(13:09):
for acquiring HIV are actuallyon PrEP. And maybe that could
be, you know, young people,adolescents they live with, they
have that underdevelopedprefrontal cortex, and they say,
oh, it's, it can never happen tome. Always is going to happen to
somebody else. And I'msurprised. We see lots of new
patients with HIV that couldhave been preventive if they had
(13:32):
taken that step to go on PrEP.
PrEP works. Prep is about 99%effective. It works. But you got
to take it. If you don't takethe medication, it's difficult,
and for a young, healthy personto take a pill every day is
challenging. They have busylives. They may not go to the
pharmacy get the refills. Whoknows what the reasons are, but
you know, they stop taking them.
(13:55):
They don't come in for theirappointments, for follow up, to
get a new refill. Thank goodnesswe now have injectable, long
acting injectables for PrEP.
JOE KORT (14:04):
Yes.
DR. PAUL BENSON (14:05):
For patients can come in every two months.
There's going to be one comingout, because you can come in
every six months for treatment.
Actually, that that is out.
There's another one that we'reactually doing clinical research
on. There'll be a once a yearinjection. So those are going to
be game changers. We needprevention with good treatment.
That's the way we're going toget eradication.
JOE KORT (14:26):
I get this question a lot, and I'm so glad to have you
to ask here on this podcast. Butyou know, I'm a side. I coined
the term side, and I talk aboutand promote helping people who
feel shame about just engagingin outer course, if, well,
people will often ask me is, doI need to be on PrEP? Do I need
to be on Doxy? Do I need to haveanti a, anti HIV, transmission
(14:48):
drugs if I'm not havingintercourse? Well, how do you
answer that?
DR. PAUL BENSON (14:51):
The answer is, the answer is, No, you do not
those behaviors are not puttinganybody at risk.
JOE KORT (15:00):
That's so helpful, because I absolutely believe
that's probably why I'm alivetoday, because back in the day,
I had hundreds of partners,hundreds but it was all outer.
Course, it was all sidebehavior, no no intercourse. I
think if I had done that, Iwould have probably contracted
it.
DR. PAUL BENSON (15:14):
Sure, I count my blessings, because I came out
in the 1980s and I spent a sixmonth rotation in 1980 in San
Francisco at the Haight Ashburyfree medical clinic. That's
really where I got my foundationfor learning about treating STIs
and learning to treat the LGBTQcommunity. If I had been out in
(15:35):
1980 living in the in theepicenter for HIV San Francisco
in 1980 I'm sure I would havecontracted it as well.
JOE KORT (15:45):
Well, we were both lucky, really,
DR. PAUL BENSON (15:46):
Yeah, and that's all it is, is luck.
JOE KORT (15:48):
I know.
DR. PAUL BENSON (15:49):
You know, people have the shame of
thinking they're, they're dirtyor something's wrong with them,
if they're, if they get infectedwith HIV, you know, it's, it's
just bad luck. You know, it'sjust really not that you're a
bad person, right?
JOE KORT (16:02):
I love that you're saying that. So let's go back to
transgender care. You knowthat's a big deal these days.
Talked about in politics and youknow, our in the culture, will
you talk about the services youprovide in the philosophy of be
well, your practice regardingthe decision to transition.
DR. PAUL BENSON (16:18):
I have been practicing gender affirming
hormone therapy with patientssince early 1980 and we've
always had a smattering, not toomany, probably 95% of them were
transgender women, biologic men,transgender women. And boy. Has
(16:40):
that changed in the last year ortwo? We are seeing many
transgender men now. We'reseeing young individuals,
teenagers coming in with theirparents support, with their
parents in the room. I don'tquite understand why there's
(17:01):
such a huge influx? Are peoplefeeling more comfortable being
transgender now that they cancome out? I think it's probably
multifactorial. I have had someyoung individuals coming in
believing they were transgender,then changing their mind shortly
thereafter. So one patientthat's probably one of my
(17:25):
favorites is I call my littledroogie. Was a transgender male,
and when, when he came in withhis mother, as I tell everybody,
they thought a contract so theyknow what we do and what we
don't do. And this was a 16 yearold, and one of the things I
tell them is, I will not supportany surgical reassignment
(17:46):
surgery of any type until theage of 19. That's just what I
do. And they came in to me. I'dknown them for about a year, and
droogie wanted to get amastectomy, a bilateral
mastectomy, and I said,Remember, I told you, I'm not
going to support it. You're only17. I said, You've got plenty of
(18:07):
time. Well, they yelled at me,and the mother yelled at me, and
I thought I was going to losehim as a patient, but I
steadfast. They came back threemonths later, and my little
droogie decided not to betransgender and found a
boyfriend, and, you know,decided, you know, not not to be
(18:27):
transgender anymore. So thereare so many reasons for why some
people, especially young people,choose to be transgender. For
many of them, it's not a choice.
They're born that way. It isinnate. I get it, but there are
some where there really is achoice. And sometimes they see
some of their friends aretransgender, and they, quote,
(18:50):
unquote, decide to betransgender too. So on a young
person, we make sure that theysee somebody such as yourself or
mental health, I tell them thatbeing transgender is something
that comes from your heart andthat we don't have to go on a
hormone affirming therapy rightaway. And I let them explore. I
mean, I get older people thatare coming in, maybe they're a
(19:14):
little bit confused too, butmost individuals that come to
me, they clearly know thatthey're in the wrong phenotype
of their body, and they clearlyknow they're transgender, and,
you know, we prescribe hormoneaffirming therapy for them and
surgical intervention aftereverybody feels comfortable that
this is a permanent thing. Buton children, it's it's a little
(19:37):
bit more challenging and and Ijust don't believe in rushing to
surgical intervention. I justdon't hormonal affirming
therapy. Yes.
JOE KORT (19:48):
How do you feel about puberty blockers?
DR. PAUL BENSON (19:52):
I try not to use them. I've used them in some
cases. Sometimes it could beirreversible. The other thing
that I don't really like aboutit is that it closes up growth
plates earlier, and so somebodycould be of short statue. If you
have a transgender man and youput on puberty blockers, their
(20:15):
growth is going to be stunted.
And should they choose at somepoint in time afterwards not to
be transgender anymore. They'restuck with the effects of what
the puberty blockers did. I'mjust not sure the benefits
exceed the risks of usingpuberty blockers. If a child is
confused and you want to delaypuberty for a short period of
(20:36):
time, I could see using pubertyblockers, and that's when I do
use them, if there's not anyevidence of any confusion or
whatever. I just don't thinkthat puberty blockers have a lot
to offer, offer at a young age.
JOE KORT (20:52):
You've noted also that there's improper use of hormone
affirmative therapy, that itincreases the risk for many
medical conditions. Can you talkabout that?
DR. PAUL BENSON (21:01):
Absolutely, it's extremely important that
anybody on gender affirminghormone therapy get blood work
on a regular basis. For atransgender man, if you're
giving somebody testosterone, itcan cause liver disease, it can
cause acne. It can cause we'veheard of roid rage. It can cause
(21:23):
behavioral changes. It can causea stroke from from high blood
pressure in trans women,estrogen could possibly cause
cancers in the body. There'sjust no long term studies on
that. It can cause strokes ifyou have somebody that's on
estrogen therapy and smokecigarettes, their risk for
(21:47):
having a stroke or a heartattack is extremely elevated. So
all these parameters need to belooked at with very little
exception, most of mytransgender individuals live
with the motto that more isbetter and they want super
(22:09):
physiologic doses oftestosterone, testosterone or
estrogen, thinking that more isbetter and they're going to get
to their desired effect sooner.
Well, more is associated withincreased complications and side
effects. There are many patientsthat listen to things on the
internet and listen to theirfriends and they say, Well, my
(22:30):
friend is on X, Y and Z. Whyaren't you giving me that my
goal in therapy is to makehormone levels the appropriate
amount of the desired sex theywant to be for that age. And one
example is progesterone. Ireally don't approve of
progesterone. I use it a littlebit. Progesterone causes mood
(22:52):
changes, and that's a hormonethat surges in cisgender women
before they have menstruation,it's an anti estrogen. It causes
the uterus to slough cells, andthat's why women, biological
women have have menstruation, ormenstrual periods, monthly.
Well, a transgender female isnot going to have a period. They
(23:15):
don't have a uterus, and to givethem progesterone, which is anti
estrogen. All you're doing isadding side effects. And you're
not really, you're not really,it's not really any benefit.
JOE KORT (23:29):
I love how measured you are about all this. You
know, what do you think when youwatch the news or you hear all
this buzz about, you know,doctors are being irresponsible
and they're just cutting upchildren and mutilating. And
what do you respond? How do yourespond to that?
DR. PAUL BENSON (23:43):
You know, Joe, I only hear what I hear on the
news, and that's taken with amultiple grains of salt. I
myself am not really familiarwith that, but I don't believe
in reassignment surgery for anadolescent, I don't, I really
just don't think there's a rushand if, if, and I don't know
(24:06):
this for a fact, but I've heardit the same as you, if young,
pubescent children are havingsurgical intervention at that
young age, I'm not in favor ofit. You can be a full
transgender individual and nothave surgical intervention as a
child. Wait, wait until youbecome adult that you're really
(24:28):
sure I had a transgender womanthat I'd taken care of for about
30 years. She wound up having apulmonary embolism as a
complication of her estrogentherapy. She was taken off of
it. She did well. She came backin. I said, Well, I said, Do you
want to restart the estrogen?
I'm ready to restart on you. Shegoes, No, I don't really need it
(24:49):
anymore. And that's true whenyou're when you're a biologic
female, when you're in your 60sor 70s, your hormone level is
low anyway, that's just anatural aging process. So
there's really very little, I'mnot going to say none, but
there's little benefit of givingsomebody extra large doses of
estrogen that would be higherthan what their normal age would
(25:11):
require to be. So she's 100% atransgender woman, and she's not
on estrogen. She chooses not tobe. And I think that's great.
And I think you and I both knowthat as an LGBTQ or as a
transgender individual, it'swhat's in your heart that's
really what dictate dictates it.
(25:33):
It's really not necessarily yourphenotype or what your body
looks like. It's how you act andhow you feel, and you can feel
that without having to be onhormones
JOE KORT (25:42):
100%. You have and we heard him bark a little bit ago.
You have a golden retriever,Baxter, who's part of your team.
How do patients react to the dogin your office?
DR. PAUL BENSON (25:52):
They love him.
Unfortunately, Baxter may Restin Pieces in doggy heaven.
JOE KORT (25:56):
Oh.
DR. PAUL BENSON (25:57):
He passed away three years ago, but he was
clearly the mascot of theoffice. He had an innate ability
to know who he should see andwho he shouldn't see. And so
many times I would go in a roomand he'd be getting a belly rub
from a patient. But I do haveBowie, who's around here
somewhere, that Bowie comes tothe office every day. The
(26:17):
patients love him. He's threeand a half years old, a little
bit in the wild side. The GoldenRetrievers usually are until
they're about five. But he's agood boy, and he's developing to
be a good patient ambassador aswell.
JOE KORT (26:30):
How long did Baxter live?
DR. PAUL BENSON (26:32):
Baxter lived to just under 12.
JOE KORT (26:34):
Okay.
DR. PAUL BENSON (26:35):
And he had a good life.
JOE KORT (26:36):
What would you that we did? What did we not talk about
that you want to leave listenerswith, that you want to say on
the final thoughts?
DR. PAUL BENSON (26:46):
That mental health is an important part of
total health care, and that manypatients are resistant To
getting mental health, andespecially when they come in
with quote, unquote,psychosomatic symptoms all the
(27:06):
time, and get test after testafter test, and you mention it
to them that you know, maybe youshould see a therapist. A lot of
times, there's resentment, likeyou don't believe me, well, it's
not a question, not believingit's a question that every
individual should assemble forthemselves a good health care
(27:29):
professional team, and that mayinclude your dentist, your
doctor, your primary caredoctor, maybe an infectious
disease specialist, a mentalhealth therapist, whatever else
it should be, surround yourselfwith a good a good team, also a
patient advocate. There'snothing wrong, and I think it's
(27:52):
healthy when a patient goes tosee me or any doctor that they
bring a significant other in theroom with them, if anything
else, in all honesty, the personthe patient then gets more
respect and time from thatprovider. It's just the truth of
the matter, if they havesomebody else in the room with
them, that makes sense.
JOE KORT (28:13):
Where can people find you?
DR. PAUL BENSON (28:16):
Um, I'm in Berkeley, Michigan, on 11 Mile
Road, Be Well Medical Center.
I'm in a lot of the magazines,the LGBTQ, between the lines,
etc. I'm in the phone book. Iknow you have my number. I have
your number. I'm glad that wecan really partnership, because
that is really great when youand I share the same patient,
that we can collaboratetogether, that everybody really
(28:40):
knows what's going on. I likethat difficult to find.
JOE KORT (28:44):
Yeah, no, you're not.
And we're going to put up allyour, you know, your website and
all the internet information aswell. And I want to full
disclosure to everybody. I go toyour center too. I see one of
your pas Calib, am I saying hisname? Right? Caleb, right? I
don't know why I was thinking,Caleb, I love him. He's been
with you a long time.
DR. PAUL BENSON (29:03):
Yes, Caleb's been with me for about 15 years.
All my providers have been withme for a while. We're growing.
We just brought in anotherphysician assistant because
we're getting larger and larger,and we don't like it when
somebody wants to come in for anurgent same day visit, we have
to tell them no because we'rebooked. Yeah, one other thing I
(29:25):
can't say, Joe, since I want totake any venue, I can to say
this. It's extremely importantfor any person that's seen a
healthcare provider, provider,whether it be psychologist or
primary care, if they cannotmake an appointment, to call and
cancel it. The health of thehealth of the be well Medical
Center is really beingcompromised right now because
(29:47):
patients just don't show up fortheir appointment. They don't
give that courtesy. And we havea waiting list of people every
day that we can get in lastminute for an urgent care visit.
So I'd like to take thisopportunity to let people know,
regardless of who your provideris, if you can't make an
appointment, we understand stuffhappens, but if you can't make
(30:10):
an appointment, call and letthem know you need to reschedule
or cancel, it really makes a bigdifference.
JOE KORT (30:17):
I'm so glad you're here as a local referral and a
local resource, and thank you somuch for being on my show.
DR. PAUL BENSON (30:22):
My pleasure. It was fun.
JOE KORT (30:24):
All right, so you can hear more of my podcast at
www.smartsexsmartlove.com, andyou can also find me and follow
me anywhere on the internet. Ifyou're on Twitter, TikTok,
Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn,it's all @DrJoeKort D, R, J, O,
E, K, O, R, T, and also, you canfind me on my website,
www.joeort.com. Until next time,be safe, stay healthy, and I'll
(30:48):
see you next time.
DR. PAUL BENSON (30:50):
Take care, Joe.
JOE KORT (30:51):
All right.
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