X Files: the Nonbinary Struggle with Healthcare Data Software

When Rey Katz legally changed their name, they thought the hard part was over. But Katz soon discovered what was coming next: years of being called the wrong name in doctor's offices, confused looks from pharmacy staff, and the exhausting routine of explaining their identity over and over again to healthcare workers just trying to do their jobs.

The problem, it turns out, was often technological. Healthcare software systems, many built decades ago, were designed around rigid assumptions about gender and names that don't reflect the reality of transgender and nonbinary patients' lives. These technical limitations create real barriers to care.

Katz is a nonbinary web developer and marketing expert who previously worked as an engineer and technical lead for a healthcare software company. “I changed my name legally a few years ago. But there were a couple of years where I had one legal name and one preferred name. And so I had this firsthand experience of being called the wrong name over and over again in doctor’s offices. And I knew it was because they were looking at my chart which specified my legal name at the top.”

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