Your healthcare provider may ask you for your gender, sex assigned at birth, and your pronouns, but there is no legislation requiring you to disclose this information. Is My Healthcare Provider Allowed to Ask for My Gender Identity? Use other pronouns (Here you would give an option for people to fill in their pronouns).Researchers suggest a form includes the following gender identity options: Options for Collecting Gender Identity in an Electronic Health Record A 2022 investigation published in JAMA Open Network found that after receiving gender-affirming care, such as hormones and puberty blockers, trans and nonbinary youths had a 60% lower chance of experiencing severe depression.Ī report published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association also emphasized the importance of not assuming the pronouns that people may have, and not limiting which pronouns a person can say that they have. Validating someone’s identity is only the first step in providing good care to trans and nonbinary patients, with gender-affirming care also being incredibly important. Notably, the Center for American Progress found 66% of trans patients reported having difficulty obtaining documentation with their correct name and pronouns. If you are transgender, healthcare rules such as needing to have a form of identification that matches your legal name for hospital records can cause harm and frustration. Here we explain best practices for collecting gender identity information and how trans patients can be better included and provide ways you can go about changing your gender identity within your medical records.Įxplaining the Importance of Collecting Gender Identity Information Healthcare providers need all the facts to make informed and evidence-based recommendations for treatment and care.

This also includes knowing and validating your gender identity, which is both the gender you identify with and how you express your gender.īecause we know many healthcare providers do not routinely discuss or collect information about their patients’ gender identity and sexual orientation, it is important to be your own advocate to ensure the information is correct in your medical records.įrom a public health perspective, we also know gender and sexual orientation can put you at a higher risk of certain health issues, such as the risk of contracting HIV/AIDs and having breast cancer. The more your healthcare providers knows about you, the more they can give you appropriate care.

Record it by gender