Patients have lower rates of mortality and hospital readmissions when treated by female doctors, and female patients benefit more than their male counterparts, new research suggests.
The mortality rate for female patients was 8.15% when they were treated by female doctors versus 8.38% when the doctor was male, a clinically significant difference, the researchers found. While the difference for male patients was smaller, female doctors still had the advantage with a 10.15% mortality rate compared to the 10.23% rate for male doctors.
The researchers found the same pattern in hospital readmission rates.
The study is published in the peer-reviewed journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
Patient outcomes should not differ between male and female doctors if they practice medicine the same way, said Dr. Yusuke Tsugawa, resident associate professor of medicine in the College’s general internal medicine and health services research division. of Medicine David Geffen. at UCLA and lead author of the study.
Patient health outcomes
“What our findings indicate is that male and female physicians practice medicine differently, and these differences have a significant impact on patients’ health outcomes.”Tsugawa said. “Further research into the underlying mechanisms that link physician gender to patient outcomes, and why the benefit of receiving female treatment is greater for female patients, has the potential to improve patient outcomes in all areas.
Researchers examined Medicare claims data from 2016 to 2019 for approximately 458,100 female and nearly 319,800 male patients. Of them, 142,500 and 97,500, or approximately 31% of both, were treated by female doctors. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality from the date of hospital admission and 30-day readmission from the date of discharge.
Some conclusions
The researchers write that there may be several factors driving these differences. They suggest that male doctors could underestimate the gravity of the illness of his patients; Previous research has noted that doctors underestimate their patients’ pain levels, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular symptoms, and stroke risk, which could lead to delayed or incomplete care.
Furthermore, las doctors can communicate better with his patients, making these patients more likely to provide important information that leads to better diagnoses and treatments. Finally, patients may feel more comfortable receiving sensitive tests and engaging in detailed conversations with physicians.
But more research is needed on how and why male and female doctors practice medicine differently and its impact on patient care, Tsugawa said. “A better understanding of this issue could lead to the development of interventions that effectively improve patient care,” she said.
In addition, gender differences in doctors’ remuneration must be eliminated, he said. “It is important to note that female doctors provide high-quality care, and therefore having more female doctors benefits patients from a social point of view,” Tsugawa said.
Co-authors of the study are Dr. Atsushi Miyawaki of the University of Tokyo, Dr. Anupam Jena of Harvard University, and Dr. Lisa Rotenstein of UC San Francisco.
