Death, hospital readmission less likely for women treated by female doctors

Editor's Note

A new study showing women treated by female doctors are less likely to die or be readmitted to the hospital adds to the growing body of evidence that women and minorities tend to receive worse medical care than men and white patients, NBC News reported April 22.

Published April 21 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the study compared 800,000 Medicare patients aged 65 and older hospitalized from 2016 through 2019. Physician gender appeared to have no affect on male patient outcomes. However, 8.15% died within 30 days when treated by female physicians, compared to 8.38% of women treated by male physicians. “Although the difference between the two groups seems small, the researchers say erasing the gap could save 5,000 women’s lives each year,” NBC reports.  

Although the study did not examine the reasons for the discrepancy, a lead author quoted in the report cites other data showing women treated by women are less likely to experience miscommunication, misunderstanding and bias. Other context for the new data includes studies showing that women and minority patients are up to 30% more likely to be misdiagnosed than white men, NBC reports.

The article also notes that “women are less likely than men to receive intensive care but more likely to report negative experiences with health care, having their concerns dismissed, and having their heart or pain symptoms ignored, “ and “male physicians are also more likely than female doctors to underestimate women’s risk of stroke.” Other data cited by NBC found that not all patients have fewer complications and shorter hospital stays when treated by female surgeons, and that female doctors are more likely to follow medical evidence and guidelines.

However, some experts quoted by NBC say the results do not suggest people should change doctors or seek doctors of the same gender. Others are skeptical of the findings. For example, one physician argues that patients are treated by teams rather than individual surgeons.