By asking about your race, ethnicity and preferred language, we’re better able to deliver health care to you — and to all patients.
At Northshore, we appreciate the diverse patients and communities we serve. Learning more about you helps us deliver care that is personalized to your unique needs. Learning about all members of our community helps us know how we are doing and where we need to do better. And we’re serious about our commitment to improving health equity.
In addition to asking about race, ethnicity, preferred language, we’d like to know your information about sexual orientation and gender identity. Why? Because the more we know about you, the better we can care for you. And most importantly, all your information is kept strictly confidential and is protected by HIPAA.
Enhanced Patient-Focused Care
NorthShore is committed to eliminating healthcare disparities. In order to do this, we are asking for your race, ethnicity, preferred language, sexual orientation and gender identity information to help ensure that we provide the best possible care and treat everyone with the respect all of our patients deserve.
Your information helps guide more personalized approaches to healthcare. We will use this information to monitor diseases and conditions by race and ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity. The more we know about you, the better able we are to care for you.
For example, studies show that some Americans experience diabetes more than others based on their race or ethnicity. Other examples include those among European descent have a higher prevalence of cystic fibrosis, and those among African descent have a higher prevalence of sickle cell. Knowing your cultural background and identity can help your care provider look out for symptoms of the disease to deliver earlier prevention and care.
NorthShore also is committed to creating an affirming environment and culture for our LGBTQ+ patients, families and visitors. Your correct information will help enable a safe, inclusive and respectful experience for your care. To connect you with a care team that understands the specific health needs of LGBTQ+ patients, please use our provider directory. Learn more about our commitment to the LGBTQ+ community. Please know that we listen to you and are here to help. Your voice matters.
Information Benefits Everyone
We want to ensure that we have your correct information about your race, ethnicity and preferred language on file. We’re also asking about your sexual orientation and gender identity. This critical information will enable us to continually progress toward improving care for all NorthShore patients.
If you’ve been seeing NorthShore doctors or providers for years, we already may have some of this data. But for many others, we do not. Also, some of this information can change over time. We want to confirm with everyone that we have their correct information. By improving the accuracy of your personal information, we may find and reduce health disparities and help ensure that you and all patients receive the best possible care.
The data we collect also may help us recognize where we can add new services to improve your experience at NorthShore, such as team members who speak multiple languages, or the availability of language interpretation services and appropriate patient education materials.
Confidential, Secure and Always Optional
For your convenience and/or comfort, you can confirm or add your own information via NorthShoreConnect. Simply log in and go to “Account Settings” to update your personal information. Add any missing data or corrections to the “Details About Me” section. When you schedule or arrive for an appointment, an employee may ask you more detailed questions about your race, ethnic background and preferred language. These questions shouldn’t take too much time, and it’s important that we have the correct information.
If you are not comfortable sharing this information, that’s okay too. Sharing is always your choice and protecting your privacy is our top priority.
All patient information collected by NorthShore is strictly confidential and protected by HIPAA.
The data will only be seen by registration staff, hospital administrators and clinical team members involved in improving the quality of your care. We’re serious about our commitment to improving health equity and we need your help in order to do it.