The Impact of Doctor’s Gender on Patient Prognosis: Why Female Doctors Have Better Outcomes

2024-04-24 00:26:00
The details of the study on the incidence of the doctor’s gender on the patient’s prognosis

(Dennis Thompson – HealthDay News) — Your doctor’s gender may play a role in your prognosis: New research shows that hospitalized patients are less likely to die if they are treated by a female doctor.

About 10.15 percent of men and 8.2 percent of women died while under the care of a female doctor, compared with 10.23 percent and 8.4 percent when treated by a male doctor, according to the published results in the April 22 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

This is a worrying discrepancy, given that patient outcomes should not differ if men and women practice medicine in the same way, said the study’s lead author, Dr. Yusuke Tsugawa. He is a resident associate professor of medicine in the Department of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in Los Angeles.

“What our findings indicate is that physicians of both sexes practice medicine differently, and these differences have a significant impact on patient health outcomes,” Tsugawa said in a UCLA news release.

In the study, researchers analyzed Medicare claims data from 2016 to 2019 for about 458,100 female patients and nearly 319,800 male patients. Of these, approximately 31 per cent were treated by female doctors.

Not only were patients less likely to die with a female doctor, they were also less likely to return to the hospital within a month of discharge, the researchers found.

They had several theories about why male doctors might not be as effective as female doctors in treating women.

Male doctors may underestimate the severity of a patient’s illness, the researchers said. Previous studies have found that male doctors tend to misjudge women’s pain levels, heart and gastrointestinal symptoms and stroke risk.

It may also be that women communicate better and feel more comfortable with female doctors, making them more likely to disclose important information that leads to better diagnosis and treatment.

More research is needed on how and why male doctors practice medicine differently, as well as the effect this difference has on patient care, Tsushiawa said.

“Further research into the underlying mechanisms linking physician gender to patient outcomes, and why the benefit of receiving care from female physicians is greater for female patients, has the potential to improve patient outcomes across the board,” Tsushiawa said.

Tsugawa added that these results show that gender disparities in physician compensation must be eliminated.

“It’s important to note that female physicians provide high-quality care, and that having more female physicians benefits patients from a social perspective,” Tsushia said.

A 2021 analysis published in the journal Health Affairs found that female doctors earn about $2 million less than male doctors over a 40-year medical career.

More information

Harvard Health offers more information about doctors’ gender.

SOURCE: UCLA, press release, April 22, 2024

* Dennis Thompson. HealthDay Reporters ©The New York Times 2024

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