In 2016, Public health researchers at Harvard conducted an interesting study and found that elderly patients were less likely to have 4% lower relative risk of dying prematurely and 5% lower risk of being readmitted to a hospital within 30 days if treated by female doctors rather than male.
These findings indicate that potential differences in practice patterns between male and female physicians may have important clinical implications.
So, what’s this about? Physician’s sex doesn’t make a difference in outcome. It isn’t the extra x chromosome or the estrogen level that makes the difference. It must be some behaviours in female physicians that are just a little different than men.
The study doesn’t explain why this happens, but prior studies by Johns Hopkins researchers have found that female doctors tend to spend more time with patients, communicate better and are more likely to adhere to clinical guidelines. Researchers predicted that if male physicians may achieve the same outcomes as their female colleagues, there would be 32,000 fewer deaths each year. This difference is really surprising. Researchers also found they have longer visits than their male counterparts.
More effective communication has been linked with higher rates of patient satisfaction, lower readmissions, and better adherence to therapeutic recommendations.
Harvard’s study found that, when treated by female internists, Medicare patients had a Researchers examined outcome data between 2011 and 2014 on the eight most common conditions in seniors treated by general internists, including sepsis, pneumonia, congestive heart failure, and acute renal failure.
The study reported that mortality rates for sepsis were more than 2% lower among patients treated by female physicians, and about 1% lower for those treated for heart arrhythmia and pneumonia. Female doctors recorded about 1% lower readmissions for pneumonia and congestive heart failure. That might not seem like a big difference, but the costs add up quickly when applied to tens of thousands of patients with these conditions.
Scientists then adjusted differences in patient and doctor characteristics. They then determined if differences in patient outcomes were varied depending on the condition or the severity of an illness.
Researchers then restricted their analysis to hospitalists. So, the researchers limited their analysis to doctors focused on offering hospital care. They were randomly selecting patients according to their schedules.
But still result remain constant that suggests the ability of healthier patients to choose their own doctors was not a factor.
Hospitals nationwide are seeking to improve physicians’ communication with patients, especially as they face financial penalties for readmissions. The task is particularly challenging among elderly patients, who see an average of seven physicians a year across four different practices, according to the Institute of Medicine.
Surprising or not, this study and its findings are absolutely a big deal not only for women, but for our system of health care as well. Over the years, the number of women in medicine has increased.
Regardless, I believe this is an important study that has the potential to benefit many. It’s clear we need more research, and our first order of business is to explore how this study and others will allow us, whatever our gender, to provide better quality health care to patients.
Know the writer
Dr (Prof) Meenu Walia is a renowned Medical Oncologist (Cancer Specialist) with over 27 years of experience. She has an expertise in Breast and Gynaecological Cancers. She is India’s first DNB, Medical Oncologist and spearheads the Department of Medical Oncology & Hematology at Max Super Specialty Hospital (Patparganj, Vaishali and Noida). She has been decorated with various awards namely Bharat Jyoti Award and Medical Excellence by IMA multiple times. She is a keen cancer researcher and is actively involved with several NGOs working towards the welfare of cancer patients. She is the author of a hugely popular book among cancer patients and caregivers, “Tips for Happiness in The Shadow of Cancer”. She also a TEDx speaker.
Dr Meenu Walia being felicitated by the President of Medical Council of India