To book an appointment with a health-care service provider, one has to fill-up a patient intake form. There is no option for transgender persons in the gender section of patient intake forms across many hospitals, health insurance companies, and diagnostic labs, and other healthcare institutions. 

This leads to invisibilization of the trans community, their misgendering, and continuing discrimination and stigmatization. It further perpetuates the medical data disparity that exists due to many of the trans community choosing ill-fitting gender identity, unwillingly, thus the actual data never makes it to the medical records. 

Additionally, having only “Gender” in the intake forms might also lead to misdiagnosis. For example, if a trans person, assigned female at birth, and now identifies as a male might select the “Male” option. In such cases, it is clinically relevant to have “Sex assigned at birth” in addition to “Gender” on the patient intake forms to correctly capture the history of the patient.

The landmark NALSA Judgement of 2014, section Article 21 and Transgenders, clause 68, states that “Recognition of one’s gender identity lies at the heart of the fundamental right to dignity. Gender, as already indicated, constitutes the core of one’s sense of being as well as an integral part of a person’s identity. Legal recognition of gender identity is, therefore, part of the right to dignity and freedom guaranteed under our Constitution.”  

We demand hospitals, diagnostic labs, insurance companies, and other healthcare institutions to make their patient intake forms inclusive for trans people.

Please Sign Our Petition to make healthcare services equitable for the trans community. Having trans-inclusive forms is the first step towards making the healthcare fraternity trans-affirmative.