I just realized...this clinic outs me on my prescriptions

[Arch]

I was updating my calendar today--writing in the approximate date that I should call in a refill on my T. I always photocopy the prescription slip and then pencil in the date that I got it filled. That way, I have a record for my files, and I know that I have evidence of a refill in case the pharmacy tells me otherwise.

I never paid much attention to the personal ID info on the prescriptions--after all, I know who I am. I do check the actual medication info to make sure I'm getting the right concentration/amount and a refill. But today I noticed the personal info on my photocopy. My name and birthdate are in bold. In non-bold is my age. And next to that, FM, for female-to-male. They use the same coding on my medical chart.

I'm in shock. I am stealth, and I've been going to a nice gay pharmacy that caters to HIV/AIDS patients, who frequently get scrip for T. I don't know how to describe my feelings about going to this pharmacy. I'm not HIV+, but using this pharmacy makes me feel closer to the gay community. I feel at home there. I feel like a gay man there. It makes a difference. I thought I was safe there and that nobody knew I was trans, even if they suspected. But the clinic has explicitly coded me as trans--or, worse, people could read the FM as FEMALE.

I am legally male with the fed and the state. I can't believe the clinic puts this FM crap on prescriptions. I can't believe my friends didn't say anything, but maybe they haven't noticed, either. And I'm chagrined that I didn't notice it before, but I've only had two prescriptions from this clinic so far, and the offending information is in regular type and doesn't really stand out.

I have an appointment in a couple of weeks, and I know I'm going to say something about this. But right now, my head is spinning. This has not been a good day to begin with, and now I feel angry and violated. No, not angry--absolutely effing furious. How can they justify outing trans people like this, even to the pharmacy? It's bad enough to be trans in the first place, but now they kick me when I'm down? NONONONONO.

[Arch]

FM. Fake man. I want to hurt someone.

[Felix]

Other than possibly maybe sometimes children, nobody has the right to out you but yourself. This labeling can't possibly be medically necessary.

[Cindy]

Arch,
That is disgusting and in violation of your privacy, which is illegal down here and I would have thought so in the USA. Just checked my scripts, it has patients name and address, which is transcribed from the medics script and my medicare number, which is how Australia runs its health charging system. I cannot think of any reason to have gender identifiers.

Was the gender ID put on by the pharmacy or was it on the original script from your Dr? There should be no way that the Pharmacy would have info on your gender.

Time to kick some groin

Cindy

[Adio]

I'm so sorry, Arch.  I'd be upset too.  Definitely say something at your appointment.  There's no reason for the F to be on there at all.

I had something similar happen, in what I considered to be a safe space as well.  Like you, all of my IDs, state and federal, say male.  When I went for top surgery, I happened to look at my hospital band.  It had F on there!  I was in shock.  When I mentioned this to Dr Garramone, he was kind of surprised and said they do that "automatically" because most of his patients have not changed their gender marker.  Mine has been changed and was on my driver's license that I gave them and the surgery center.  I uncomfortably laughed about it then but it's continued to bother me since.

You're certainly not a fake man.  The "FM" is clearly a mistake which needs correction.

[MaxAloysius]

That is absolutely unacceptable! I can certainly understand why you feel violated; I would too!

There is absolutely no reason for that information to be on there; my script doesn't have a gender written on it, so I don't understand why yours would. Please let us know what they say about it when you go in and talk to them next.

[geek]

Woah, that's really kinda crazy! ESP. Because you're legally male, it's not like they write "CGIU" (can't get it up) for lads that can't get it up and need Viagra.

Stick it to the man and let us know how you go!

[Da Monkey]

Yeah it's weird that it would have your gender on it since in Canada, too, (at least where I am) there isn't any gender marker on my prescription. Plus, we have to have surgery with two doctor's notes to get our gender marker changed anyway (it cannot be done with a name change) and I haven't switched it yet so my health card still says 'F'.

But I guess what's also weird is when I went to get my T the pharmacy didn't even ask for my health card at all hahah  .

[Morgan.]

That is completely unacceptable and unnecessary. My old doctor used my female title - "Miss" - on my prescriptions before my name, but since switching doctors and pharmacies there is nothing before my name now, and I don't think putting someone's gender on a prescription is relevant in the slightest. It is a violation of your privacy.

Ask your doctor if this was information given on their account or if the pharmacy was responsible.

[Hermione01]

I don't blame you for being upset Arch, this is totally unacceptable.  If it hasn't been on your script in the past, then it must have been this pharmacy that did it.  They need to be told in no uncertain terms that they have hurt and violated you. 

[poptart]

I would just go in and tell them they made an error and to fix it. It's not a big deal -- who but yourself and the pharmacists look at your prescription papers anyway?

[Arch]

Just to clarify, this "FM" comes from the clinic and is part of the identifying info that they print on everything related to me. So it's automatically printed on the prescription sheet or whatever they call it. I wish the pharmacy were responsible. Nothing damning comes up on my actual medications.

I was pretty horrified to see that Garramone's office puts F on everyone, even when official documents have been changed...seriously? Don't they know better? And the GP who was putting "Miss" on prescriptions...yikes. I've had a lot of scrip over the years of my female life, and not one of them ever "missed" me.

I'm still puzzled about why none of my trans friends ever mentioned this. It could be a recent thing--I just started going to this clinic about six months ago. Or, as I said earlier, maybe none of them noticed. I've been out of touch with most of these guys lately, too.

Well, I'm over the initial shock, but I am still plenty pissed. I doubt that one indignant patient will make them change how they do everything, though.

[MaxAloysius]

My old doctor used my female title - "Miss" - on my prescriptions before my name,

My doctor did this too and it drove me up the wall, but the minute I got my prescription for T she changed it (thank god!).

[Ender]

Are you absolutely certain that the FM stands for female-to-male?  My prescription bottle has some random letters on it and I really have no clue what they mean...  Maybe just an unfortunate coincidence of codes?

But if it's not... yeah, that's pretty unnecessary to have that designation written on a prescription.  Do you have a prescribing doctor so you can have the script changed or have the clinic update your record to the proper 'M'?

My prescribing doctor kept everything as 'F' until I legally changed my documents (which you have done), at which point everything was changed to 'M' as it should be. 
Additionally, their computer system was set to print 'gender identity disorder' on all of my blood work orders, which I wasn't a fan of (I go to a different, possibly more close-minded clinic to get blood drawn).  I just explained my issue with it (outing to people who don't need to know) and the verbiage was changed to 'long-term medication use' instead.

[Arch]

Are you absolutely certain that the FM stands for female-to-male? 

I rarely claim to be 100% positive about much of anything, but, yes, I'm pretty damn sure. The last time I was at the clinic, I had some blood drawn and was idly reading the lab order sheet. It had an F next to my other personal info, and I felt the blood draining out of my face. After I took a moment to pull myself together, I marched over and said, "Does this F mean what I think it means?" I was told that it should read FM, for female to male, and that all of my paperwork reads FM. I'm that way in the computer. The field on the lab sheet was apparently too short to show the M part, so I wound up with just F. But believe me, I asked.

Knowing this, I can't think of any other way to explain the prescriptions. I also know that the clinic will not change my code--all trans men are FM and all trans women are MF. That's just how they do things. And they must generate all prescription orders through the computer or something, because my chart info gets printed up on the damned things.

Do you have a prescribing doctor so you can have the script changed or have the clinic update your record to the proper 'M'?

I've thought about how to do this. I would have to go back to the expensive endo to get a new scrip--or I could go to my equally expensive GP. I would still use the clinic to get cheap blood work done; I just wouldn't use any of the prescriptions they write for me. I don't know whether my GP would write me a prescription, though.

My prescribing doctor kept everything as 'F' until I legally changed my documents (which you have done), at which point everything was changed to 'M' as it should be. 

My ex was supposed to cancel my insurance, so I should be able to change my GP records to M, finally. I didn't want to do it before because I was afraid that the change would mess with my coverage. But if I'm not covered anymore, it shouldn't matter.

I think...

[poptart]

Maybe it's there not out of spite or idiocy but because it describes your physical state and could be relevant to certain medical issues. This shouldn't be the case of course -- they should stick with your legal sex IMO -- but I can see why a medical clinic might do it.

[Arch]

Maybe it's there not out of spite or idiocy but because it describes your physical state and could be relevant to certain medical issues. This shouldn't be the case of course -- they should stick with your legal sex IMO -- but I can see why a medical clinic might do it.

Sure, I can understand that they do it for medical reasons and perhaps even for funding purposes. I think it's freaking insensitive, and I think it's psychologically harmful, and I'm still wrapping my mind around it and trying to decide how much I'm willing to put up with for inexpensive medical care. But the clinic's internal coding system is a separate issue. Why are they printing it on my prescriptions for outsiders to see?