Establishing pan-Canadian Gender, Sex and Sexual Orientation Standards
In Canada, most health information systems are unable to capture gender, sex and sexual orientation data beyond a single sex or gender field. Consultations with the provinces and territories, as well as with major Hospital Information System (HIS) and Electronic Medical Record (EMR) vendors, revealed that there are no commonly agreed upon data standards for gender, sex and sexual orientation concepts. Data collection is therefore fragmented and incomplete and gender diverse individuals are largely invisible within the health care system, which subsequently impacts the quality of care that they receive, as well as their accurate representation within health system analytics.
To address these challenges, the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) is establishing the first pan-Canadian gender, sex and sexual orientation (GSSO) data standards that are fit for purpose across all health information needs, including clinical care, care organization operations, health system planning and population and public health. These standards are based on British Columbia’s Gender, Sex and Sexual Orientation Health Information Standard and align with those produced by Canadian and international partners, including Statistics Canada and Health Level 7 International (HL7). The implementation of these standards will be a transformative step towards building a more patient-centered, inclusive, and interoperable health care system for Canadians.
2024 Acting for Equity Webinar Series:
- January 10: Strategic EDI Blueprint: Maximizing Impact in the Digital Health Sector
- January 17: Impact of digital health on health inequities for racialized communities in Ontario
- January 24: Establishing pan-Canadian Gender, Sex and Sexual Orientation Standards
- January 31: Access to Digital Health: Equity by the numbers
