Bartlett Regional Hospital announced Thursday that at registration, its patients will now be asked for their gender identity. Patients will also be notified that they are protected against sex discrimination.
The hospital said in a press release the changes are in response to federal regulations tied to the Affordable Care Act that require health care providers treat people in a way consistent with their gender identity.
The hospital’s registration forms now ask for “gender assigned at birth” and “gender identification.” Options include female, male, intersex, female-to-male transgender, male-to-female transgender, other and an option to decline.
Denise Plano, Bartlett’s director of quality, said it’s an important rule that the hospital is pleased to comply with.
Jeremy Hsieh is the deputy managing editor of the KTOO newsroom in Juneau. He’s a podcast fiend who’s worked in journalism since high school as a reporter, editor and television producer. He ran Gavel Alaska for 360 North from 2011 to 2016, and is big on experimenting with novel tools and mediums (including the occasional animated gif) to tell stories and demystify the news. Jeremy’s an East Coast transplant who moved to Juneau in 2008.
