Doctors Should Include Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation in Medical Records

[Amelia Pond]

Doctors Should Include Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation in Medical Records
August 15, 2013, 12:13 pm

When a doctor pulls a patient's medical records, she can see all sorts of information—age, sex, weight, height, eye color, last checkup and the like. But some doctors are pushing to add two new pieces of information to that list: sexual orientation and gender identity...

In a paper published in the journal LGBT Health, the researchers pointed out that doctors do know about some health disparities in the LGBT community—issues like "lower rates of cervical cancer screening among lesbians, and mental health issues related to minority stress." Gay men are more likely to become infected with HIV, and lesbian women are more likely to be obese than their heterosexual or bisexual neighbors. Lesbians are also less likely to have health insurance. Most transgender women have prostates, but many don't go in for prostate exams. Transgender men have breast tissue that could develop breast cancer, but few go in for mammograms.

These researchers argue that gathering data on sexual orientation and gender identity could help doctors better understand patient risk, just as gathering data on race can...

[franie]

You bring up a very important  point. MY  primary Doc. knows that I am transgender, but  has never discussed it with me or put in in my records however she sends my for a mammogram every year.

[LordKAT]

I say NO!   My preferences, likes, or dislikes, or no bodies business, They already ask questions that I refuse to answer and when asked, they admit it would not change anything about my exam or treatment.


As to the mammogram, many hospitals/clinics automatically slate you for either prostate or mammogram depending on the sex on your records.

[Cindy]

Total NO.

In South Australia I would sue the bum of the medical profession.

We are protected from that nonsense. My gender marker is F on everything except my birth certificate and my marriage certificate. Which I can't change because equality in marriage is illegal here and I have to divorce my wife.

Talk about stupid laws!

[Andaya]

I'd have no problem with it really, so long as there was a 'decline to answer' option. If it can help doctors flag health issues, then I might disclose it.

[Jamie Marie]

Well I agree with some things as being nobody's business there are some things that would be nice to change. One being gender identity and physical gender. There are more than two binary genders and have been for at least 5,000 years if not since the evolution of modern species, not just humans. I don't want to be seen as a 20 some thing pretty boy when i'm a mid 30's girl at heart.

As far as sexual preference that should be optional because it does create stereotypes and will for some time until people are more accepting. Just as  I prefer to consider myself just one of the girls and not be trans* anything. But still I know what is right for me and everyone feels differently and there are those 99% that never question their gender identity. Then there are those 1% or so who do and 40% don't survive.

The pressures we put on ourselves are very high. We live in societies that only recognize people as male or female. What happened to those wild ideas about It's what's inside that counts, and beauty is only skin deep. Why do we value looks so highly as a society?


To Andaya, That kitten is so cute!!!