Researchers have found that patients treated by female doctors have lower rates of mortality and are less likely to be readmitted to the hospital. This is true for both male and female patients, but the benefit is even greater for female patients.
The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, analyzed data from more than 776,000 patients aged 65 years or older who were treated between 2016 and 2019. The researchers found that patients treated by female physicians had a mortality rate of 8.15%, compared to 8.38% for patients treated by male physicians. This difference is considered clinically significant.
The researchers also found that patients treated by female physicians were less likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge. The readmission rate for patients treated by female physicians was 10.15%, compared to 10.23% for patients treated by male physicians.
The researchers suggest that these differences may be due to several factors, including the fact that male doctors may underestimate the severity of their female patients’ illnesses. They also note that female doctors may communicate better with their female patients, which can lead to patients providing more information that can improve diagnoses and treatment.
“What our findings indicate is that female and male physicians practice medicine differently, and these differences have a meaningful impact on patients’ health outcomes,” said Dr. Yusuke Tsugawa, associate professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and lead author of the study.
“Further research on the underlying mechanisms linking physician gender with patient outcomes, and why the benefit of receiving care from female physicians is larger for female patients, has the potential to improve patient outcomes across the board.”
The findings of this study add to a growing body of research suggesting that the gender of the physician can have a significant impact on patient outcomes. This is an important area of research, as it has the potential to improve the quality of care for all patients.
