Apr 24, 2024 09:58 PM
(This post was last modified: Apr 24, 2024 10:00 PM by C C.)
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1041811
INTRO: Patients have lower rates of mortality and hospital readmissions when treated by female physicians, with female patients benefitting more than their male counterparts, new research suggests.
The mortality rate for female patients was 8.15% when treated by female physicians vs. 8.38% when the physician was male—a clinically significant difference, the researchers found. While the difference for male patients was smaller, female physicians still had the edge with a 10.15% mortality rate compared with male doctors’ 10.23% rate.
The researchers found the same pattern for 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 physicians if they practice medicine the same way, said Dr. Yusuke Tsugawa, associate professor-in-residence of medicine in the division of general internal medicine and health services research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the study’s senior author.
“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 Tsugawa, who is also an associate professor of health policy and management at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. “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.” (MORE - details, no ads)
INTRO: Patients have lower rates of mortality and hospital readmissions when treated by female physicians, with female patients benefitting more than their male counterparts, new research suggests.
The mortality rate for female patients was 8.15% when treated by female physicians vs. 8.38% when the physician was male—a clinically significant difference, the researchers found. While the difference for male patients was smaller, female physicians still had the edge with a 10.15% mortality rate compared with male doctors’ 10.23% rate.
The researchers found the same pattern for 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 physicians if they practice medicine the same way, said Dr. Yusuke Tsugawa, associate professor-in-residence of medicine in the division of general internal medicine and health services research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the study’s senior author.
“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 Tsugawa, who is also an associate professor of health policy and management at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. “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.” (MORE - details, no ads)
