Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Collection of Older Adults in the UCHealth Electronic Health Record: Assessing the First Three Years of Implementation.

Abstract

Objectives: This study examines sexual orientation/gender identity (SOGI) data collection in older adults from the UCHealth systems electronic health record.

Methods: Data of older adults aged 55 and older were analyzed between January 2019 and December 2022. Prevalence of SOGI documentation based on four new SOGI-related questions were analyzed along with social history documentation.

Results: Data were missing in reports (93% for sexual orientation and 96% for gender identity). Of 459,544 older adults potentially identifiable as a sexual or gender minority (SGM), 8.24% could be identified through other social history, and 91.76% could not. Data often returned a response of "undisclosed" (1.04%) or "unspecified" (98.79%), leaving .005% to represent the identifiable population of SGM minority adults.

Conclusions: SOGI data often was not documented through questions recommended since January 2019. It is unlikely that .005% accurately represents the SGM older patient population as national estimates are between 7%-11%. Lower reported percentages of SGM older adults may lead to less recognition of patient needs, and thus less equitable and personalized care.

Clinical implications: These findings exemplify the need for evaluation strategies to be designed to improve SOGI collection with the primary goal of promoting equity and inclusion for SGM older adults.