Research by Sex and Gender Working Group published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association

The lack of precise and inclusive gender, sex, and sexual orientation data in electronic health records (EHRs) is perpetuating inequities of sexual and gender minorities. Researchers from InfoCentral’s Sex and Gender Working Group — Francis Lau, Marcy Antonio, Kelly Davison, Roz Queen and Aaron Devor — conducted a rapid review on how gender, sex, and sexual orientation documentation in EHRs should be modernized to improve the health of these patients.

To learn more about their findings, read the paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA), a scholarly journal of informatics in health and biomedicine.

Infoway’s Sex and Gender Working Group has been meeting since November 2019 to explore ways to expand the definition, collection and use of sex- and gender-related data in Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems. The intent is to produce a coordinated action plan to modernize sex and gender information practices in EHRs across the country. The planning work is funded by the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health with the overall goal to achieve health equity for sexual and gender minority populations.

To participate in the work to improve the inadequate structures in most current EHRs so they can enable safe, inclusive, and affirmative care, join the Sex and Gender Working Group. On the second Tuesday of the month, the group hosts a presentation by a leading organization or group to share their sex- and gender-related EHR work and experience. Working group members are also invited to join the planning project consultation session on the fourth Tuesday of the month, where stakeholder groups across Canada discuss issues and approaches to incorporate sex and gender into EHR systems.