Most patients think it is important for health care providers to know patients’ sexual orientation and gender identity, according to a recent white paper by the Fenway Institute and the Center for American Progress.
The white paper explains that many entities, including the Institute of Medicine and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, recommend asking sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) questions in clinical settings, and many health care providers are investigating how to incorporate findings into electronic health records (EHRs). Several hundred patients at four health centers across the United States were surveyed about asking SOGI questions in their health centers.
There was a strong consensus among patients surveyed – heterosexual and non-transgender patients, as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patients – about the importance of asking SOGI questions, and most agreed the questions presented on the survey allowed them to accurately document their orientation and identity.
The findings presented in the white paper has current public policy implications, as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology consider whether to include SOGI data collection in the Stage 3 guidelines for the incentive program promoting meaningful use of electronic health records. The white paper provides evidence that integrating SOGI data collection into the meaningful use requirements is both acceptable to patients and feasible using existing SOGI question designs.
