JOURNAL ARTICLE

Seeing the unseen: how can we best identify transgender women within the Veterans Affairs healthcare system's electronic medical record?

  • Published In: Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2023, v. 20, n. 4. P. 559 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Nik-Ahd, Farnoosh; Waller, Justin; Hoedt, Amanda M De; Garcia, Maurice M; Figueiredo, Jane C; Carroll, Peter R; Cooperberg, Matthew R; Freedland, Stephen J 3 of 3

Abstract

This article evaluates the sensitivity and specificity of five commonly used International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes—ICD-9 codes 302.5 and 302.6, and ICD-10 codes F64.0, F64.8, and F64.9—in identifying transgender patients, particularly transgender women (TW, assigned male sex at birth), within the Veterans Affairs (VA) health system from 2000 to 2021. Through detailed chart reviews of a subset of patients stratified by bilateral orchiectomy status, the study found that these codes have high accuracy (88%-100%) in confirming transgender identity, with even greater sensitivity when combined with orchiectomy data for identifying TW. The research estimates between 9,449 and 10,738 transgender individuals in the VA system and highlights challenges such as inconsistent documentation of gender identity and sex assigned at birth in medical records. The findings suggest that using these ICD codes alongside surgical history offers a feasible method for reliably identifying transgender patients in electronic health records, facilitating improved research and healthcare delivery for this underserved population.

Additional Information

  • Source:Journal of Sexual Medicine. 2023/04, Vol. 20, Issue 4, p559
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Politics and Government
  • Publication Date:2023
  • ISSN:1743-6095
  • DOI:10.1093/jsxmed/qdac033
  • Accession Number:164277281
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