Throughout our lives, we hope to visit the hospital as few times as possible but if you do require treatment, a new study has revealed that you could statistically be better off with a female doctor.
The study, conducted by researchers in both the US and Japan, examined data from over 775,000 adults and found that those who were treated by a female physician had marginally lower mortality rates and readmission rates than their male counterparts.
Study’s finds statistical difference between male and female doctors
To carry out their study, researchers examined medical insurance claims between 2016 and 2019, noting the mortality rate of patients within 30 days of being seen by a doctor as well as readmission rates – those who had to return to hospital for further treatment within 30 days.
The researchers discovered that the mortality rate for female patients was 8.15% when being treated by female physicians compared with 8.38% when being treated by a male doctor.
For male patients, this pattern remained, although to a lesser extent. Patients of female doctors had a mortality rate of 10.15% while male colleagues had a 10.23% rate.
The study, which has been published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, found that the same pattern emerged for hospital readmission rates as patients were less likely to need to return to hospital after being treated by a female doctor.
Researchers highlight possible reasons for this
“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, an associate professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and senior author of the study.
“Further research on the underlying mechanisms linking physician gender with patient outcomes, and why the benefit of receiving the treatment from female physicians is larger for female patients, has the potential to improve patient outcomes across the board,” he added in a news release.
Researchers noted several factors that could be behind these differences. These include the possibility that male doctors may underestimate the illness or pain levels experienced by their patients, female doctors may communicate better with patients allowing for a better diagnosis and treatment, and female patients may be more comfortable receiving sensitive examinations and engaging in more detailed conversations with female physicians than their male counterparts.
The study conceded that more research is needed into how and why male and female physicians practice medicine differently and the subsequent impact this has on patient care.
“A better understanding of this topic could lead to the development of interventions that effectively improve patient care,” said Dr Tsugawa. “It is important to note that female physicians provide high-quality care, and therefore, having more female physicians benefits patients from a societal point-of-view.”
