Appropriate questions.
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0May 31, '11 by ToradolIs it an appropriate question for a Doctors office to ask your sexual preference? - 1,695 Visits
- 4May 31, '11 by Turd FergusonIf you're a patient, yes.
If you're an employee/applicant, absolutely not. -
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0May 31, '11 by nola1202Quote from ToradolI think it would be better to ask if the patient engages in any high risk sexual behaviors, and give examples if needed. I always appreciate a clinician asking if I have any concerns or questions about sexual functioning/health. To be honest I've never been asked about my sexual preference, I'm not sure how I would react. My concern is that this is a permanant and now mostly electronic record.Is it an appropriate question for a Doctors office to ask your sexual preference?
For people who do not want their sexual preference on record, I would consider telling the questioner that this is not a question you feel comfortable answering. -
3May 31, '11 by wee_oneRNQuote from nola1202Agreed. Plus, you are not likely to get accurate answers about sexual preference. Many people do not want that information out there. You are much more likely to get pertinent info if the question is framed in specific medical terms and does not sound like an intrusion of personal privacy!I think it would be better to ask if the patient engages in any high risk sexual behaviors, and give examples if needed. I always appreciate a clinician asking if I have any concerns or questions about sexual functioning/health. To be honest I've never been asked about my sexual preference, I'm not sure how I would react. My concern is that this is a permanant and now mostly electronic record.
For people who do not want their sexual preference on record, I would consider telling the questioner that this is not a question you feel comfortable answering. - 2May 31, '11 by BluegrassRNQuote from nola1202High risk sexual behaviors are okay on a permanent medical record, but sexual preference is not? I agree that assessing high risk behaviors is important, but I think it's also important for a provider to ask sexual preference.I think it would be better to ask if the patient engages in any high risk sexual behaviors, and give examples if needed. I always appreciate a clinician asking if I have any concerns or questions about sexual functioning/health. To be honest I've never been asked about my sexual preference, I'm not sure how I would react. My concern is that this is a permanant and now mostly electronic record.
For people who do not want their sexual preference on record, I would consider telling the questioner that this is not a question you feel comfortable answering.
Gay or lesbian does not equate high risk; but as a provider it's important to know. For exame, it's a waste of time to introduce or educate a lesbian on birth control. Gays, lesbians, transgender and bisexuals have some different health risks than their hetero counterparts, and part of treating clients appropriately is knowing their sexual orientationandpreference.LaurenBoog and elkpark like this. -
0May 31, '11 by HouTx GuideI wonder if this is connected to the new JC standards for "patient & family centered care". They specifically require collection of information about ethnicity, preferred language, gender preference, etc. If the doc is part of a large hospital-based medical group, this may very well be the case. - 1May 31, '11 by BluegrassRNI also just wanted to add that I worked for several years in a women's health office that was well known among the lesbian community as accepting and supportive. While some people may have lied or felt uncomfortable with the question, I suspect most were honest. I know some were relieved to have preference neutral language on the intake forms and to have their orientation treated as a matter of course, not as something strange or weird.
Questions in the physician's office are going to sometimes be private and occasionally of an uncomfortable nature, but that doesn't mean they are invalid or improper.Chin up likes this. -
1May 31, '11 by lillymomI work at a physician's office and we have started using electronic health records. From what our physicians tell us we have to fill out "smart forms" to report to the government. They have some very personal questions including your sexual oreintation, how often you have relations, and what contraception is used, if any. It goes a little too far for government reporting in my opinion.I_OYVEY likes this. -
1May 31, '11 by I_OYVEYQuote from lillymomWhat is so different and so important that was not important 20 years ago. More people are out of the closet and that is it. I am straight, that is not anybody's business, how many times a week I have sex, ditto, you already know what kind of birth control I use, you write the script. Now that we are fully in the middle of the computer age everything seems to be everyone's business. It is not just health care it is everywhere somebody wanting to know something that is either inappropriate or none of their business. The older I get the more closed mouth I get.I work at a physician's office and we have started using electronic health records. From what our physicians tell us we have to fill out "smart forms" to report to the government. They have some very personal questions including your sexual oreintation, how often you have relations, and what contraception is used, if any. It goes a little too far for government reporting in my opinion.rn/writer likes this.
