title: Inclusion of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Stage 3 Meaningful Use Guidelines: A Huge Step Forward for LGBT Health.
abstract: Final rules issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology in October 2015 require electronic health record software certified for Meaningful Use to include sexual orientation and gender identity (SO/GI) fields. This is a critical step toward making SO/GI data collection a standard practice in clinical settings. Sexual orientation identity-whether one identifies as gay, lesbian, or bisexual-correlates with behavioral health burden, and it is important to collect these data. Providers should also collect sex assigned at birth data as well as current gender identity data. Training of clinical staff in collection and use of SO/GI data, education of LGBT patients, and SO/GI nondiscrimination policies are critical for successful implementation.
authors.affiliation: 1 The Fenway Institute , Fenway Health, Boston, Massachusetts.|2 School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, Northeastern University , Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Sean R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Cahill
authors.affiliation: 3 LGBT Research and Communications Project, Center for American Progress , Washington, District of Columbia.
authors.forename: Kellan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California , San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Madeline B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Deutsch
authors.affiliation: 5 Center of Excellence for Transgender Health, University of California , San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Keatley
authors.affiliation: 1 The Fenway Institute , Fenway Health, Boston, Massachusetts.|6 Harvard Medical School , Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Harvey J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Makadon
mesh_terms: D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005783:Gender Identity; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D000072339:Sexual and Gender Minorities; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014481:United States
keywords: clinical care; gender identity; health disparities; public policy and advocacy; sexual orientation