In one of the latest updates to the medical software Ninsaúde Apolo, the social name field was added to the patients' register. But, after all, what is the importance of this field and how does it influence your clinic? Check out all the details in this article.

One of the ways to maintain high quality in the care of your patients is through humanized care, and one of the ways to do it is by transmitting confidence and empathy towards your patients. In this context comes the inclusion of the social name, which we will address below.

Just a pause before we continue, did you know that the Ninsaúde Apolo clinic and office management system is perfect for health clinics? We always work with new improvements, discover exclusive advantages here.

Here on the blog we already gave some tips on how to provide quality humanized care, visit the links below to check it out:

Now that you know everything about this subject, it's time to understand the importance of the social name in this context.

Social name: what is it?

We call a social name the name that represents an individual within society, that is, the name that others use to call you. Anyone who thinks that their social name is the same as their birth certificate is wrong because when we are born we usually get a name according to the gender of our DNA (XX equivalent to a girl and XY equivalent to a boy). However, with transgender people, this is not exactly how it works.

Published in April 2016, Brazilian Presidential Decree No. 8,727 / 2016 provides for the use of the social name and the recognition of the gender identity of transvestites and transsexuals within the scope of the federal public administration.

Transgenders are all individuals whose gender identity does not correspond to their biological sex. In this context, the social name refers to the designation by which the transsexual or transvestite person identifies and is socially recognized. For example, if at birth a person received the name José, but over time that individual sees himself as a woman, he will probably choose another name to represent him before society.

When it comes to the social name, it’s also important to know how to distinguish sexual orientation from gender identity, where the orientation concerns the different forms of affective and sexual attraction of each one, while gender identity is the term used to refer to the way each individual identifies himself, regardless of his sexual orientation.

What is the importance of the social name in the registration forms?

Humiliation and prejudice are two words that transsexuals and transvestites have known for years, and unfortunately, even over the years and with the experience in modern society, these words still torment many trans people.

The transgender population has historically been stigmatized and marginalized for deviating from the normal standards imposed on gender identity. The occurrence of violence (physical, psychological, and symbolic) against this population is constant. In a veiled way, the individual is violated by excluding him from healthy social life, making his access to services difficult and not even recognizing his identity (JESUS, Jaqueline Gomes de. 2012).

In this sense, the social name aims to protect this part of the population from free attacks and prevent trans people from suffering even more prejudice towards society.

Calling the patient by the name he chose shows respect and makes him feel more comfortable, in addition to making it evident how much you care and are willing to provide quality humanized care. Also, this action becomes a great differentiator when it comes to retaining this patient.

The use of the social name also avoids embarrassing situations, such as when waiting for care in a clinic or office. Let's say that the individual needs to be called by the secretary to the service room, and at birth, this person was named José, but in reality, he identifies himself as Ana. In this case, you may be called by the secretary for what you have chosen to use before society without passing prejudiced eyes.

How to add the social name to the patient's registration form?

When registering a new patient in the Ninsaúde Apolo system, the user can insert in addition to the name on the documents, the patient's social name. The social name is not a mandatory field since not everyone has one.

When you register it, it will be visible on the scheduling screen, service screen, call panels, reports, among other locations in the system. The social name is highlighted and always next to the patient's first name (which will be in parentheses), making it possible not only for secretaries and health professionals to distinguish one from the other, but also to associate them with the same patient.

In the case of the call panel, because it is a functionality used at the reception to call patients, and because the information is visible to everyone present in the environment, only the social name is used.

Did you like the news but are not yet a Ninsaúde Apolo user? Contact the sales team and request a demo to learn about the other features and advantages of the product. Visit the Apolo website.