TY - JOUR T1 - A threat to trans patient care quality: gender markers, patient records, and population screening JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 175 LP - 175 DO - 10.3399/bjgp22X719153 VL - 72 IS - 717 AU - Richard Armitage Y1 - 2022/04/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/72/717/175.abstract N2 - Patients in the UK are able to change the gender marker on their NHS patient record at any time on request.1 This can be undertaken without any prior contact with gender identity services, hormonal treatment or surgical intervention, or the acquisition of a Gender Recognition Certificate. Such a request triggers the creation of a novel NHS number and the importation of the patient’s medical information into a new patient record.Crucially, any reference to the patient’s previous gender identity, along with their original NHS number, is irreversibly omitted from the new patient record (reversal to the original gender identity would trigger the creation of a third NHS number).While this process serves to respect the patient’s right to personal privacy, the eradication of such medically useful information poses a challenge to the maintenance of high-quality care for trans patients, especially in the realm of population screening programmes.The … ER -