Patients should demand they are seen by a female doctor.
That is according to research that suggests being treated by a woman could save their life.
For every 1,000 patients treated, an extra two would be expected to survive if they were treated by a woman, the study found.
Experts at the University of California, Los Angeles stated their results show having more female physicians would ‘benefit patients’.
However, critics tore apart the study involving almost 800,000 medical insurance claims in the US, arguing it was heavily flawed and proved nothing.
For every 1,000 patients treated, an extra two would be expected to survive if they were treated by a woman, the study found. Experts at the University of California , Los Angeles stated their results show having more female physicians would ‘benefit patients’
The US team admitted they weren’t sure what is driving the effect.
But they noted male doctors may underestimate the severity of their female patients’ illness.
A greater difference in mortality rate was seen for female patients.
Dr Yusuke Tsugawa, senior study author, said: ‘What our findings indicate is female and male physicians practise medicine differently.
‘And these differences have a meaningful impact on patients’ health outcomes.
‘It is important to note female physicians provide high-quality care, and therefore, having more female physicians benefits patients from a societal point of view.’
He added: ‘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.’
Researchers assessed more than 775,000 Medicare insurance claims by US patients between 2016 and 2019 and recorded the number who had died within 30 days of being seen by a doctor.
They found a small but ‘significant’ difference, with an 8.15 per cent mortality rate among female patients when treated by a woman.
This rose to 8.38 per cent when treated by a male physician — a difference of around two deaths in 1,000.
While the death rate in men was higher overall, there was a smaller difference, with 10.15 per cent dying within 30 days of being seen by a female doctor.
The rate stood at 10.23 per cent with a male one, a difference of around one death in a thousand.
Writing in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers also said the ‘pattern was similar for patients’ readmission rates’.
Female patients were less likely to be readmitted within 30 days if they had a female doctor.
Some 15.23 per cent of women with a female doctor were readmitted, compared to 16.71 per cent of women with a male physician.
The team suggested the effect could also be due to female doctors communicating with their female patients better, ultimately leading to better diagnoses and treatment.
Last year, Canadian researchers also found patients patients treated for fractures, hip replacements and heart disease by women surgeons were nearly 10 percent less likely to suffer complications such as internal bleeding within 90 days of surgery compared to those seen by a man
Equally, female patients may be more comfortable engaging in detailed and sensitive conversations with doctors of the same gender.
Scientists have previously found that women who have suffered a heart attack are more likely to die if they are treated by a male doctor.
Last year, Canadian researchers also found patients patients treated for fractures, hip replacements and heart disease by women surgeons were nearly 10 percent less likely to suffer complications such as internal bleeding within 90 days of surgery compared to those seen by a man.
However, experts today argued the paper was merely observational and cannot prove causality.
Dr Gavin Stewart, an expert in evidence-based research methods at Newcastle University, said the ‘observational study design is a major limitation to this work’.
A ‘lack of pre-registration’ — when scientists register hypotheses, methods or analyses of a scientific study before it is conducted — also raises the ‘possibilities of undetected’ bias.
Researchers should be wary of the study’s conclusions, ‘unless corroborated by further studies’, he added.
Female doctors account for around half of the workforce in Britain and just over two thirds of medical and dentistry students are women.
But just 17 per cent of surgeons are female.
Source: Mail Online
