In accordance with the finalization of meaningful use stage 3, CMS, HHS and ONC have published rules requiring all EHR systems seeking certification to offer the ability for users to access and change structured data related to gender identity and sexual orientation.
The final rule seeks to include collection of information regarding sexual orientation and gender identity to help address health disparities, according to the documents. When patients choose to disclose this type of information, it enables members of their care to better identify specific aids and treatments.
"[S]exual orientation and gender identity can be relevant to individual treatment decisions; for example, transgender men who were assigned female at birth should be offered a cervical exam, as appropriate," the CMS documentation reads. "In the final rule, ONC is requiring that health IT modules enable a user to record, change and access SO/GI to be certified to the 2015 Edition "demographics" certification criterion. By doing so, SO/GI is now included in the 2015 Edition Base EHR definition, which is a part of the definition of [certified EHR technology]. We note that certification does not require that a provider collect this information; it requires only that their CEHRT enable the provider to do so. CMS and ONC believe including SO/GI in the "demographics" criterion represents a crucial step forward to improving care for LGBT communities."