Gender Harmony: A Case for Nursing Informatics

The design of digital health information systems around a conflated gender/sex binary contributes to health inequities. Lack of specific information that supports affirming communication lead to inappropriate care, disrespectful encounters with healthcare staff, and avoidance of health services by clients who have been harmed by misgendering, deadnaming and being outed. The HL7 International Gender Harmony Model (HL7 GHM) supports the design, implementation and use of DHIS that enable affirming clinical interactions and care. This case study will demonstrate how applying the HL7 GHM can address the harms reported in a recently published account of one patient in Canada.