A new study found women are less likely to die or be readmitted to the hospital when they are treated by female doctors.
The study looked at nearly 800,000 male and female patients — 458,108 female and 318,819 male — hospitalized with medical conditions between 2016 and 2019. All were covered by Medicare.
While gender of the doctor had little to no effect on risk of death for male patients, the study found that hospitalized women are less likely to die or be readmitted to the hospital if they are treated by a female doctor. The percentage difference for women is considered "clinically meaningful," the researchers noted.
The findings show 8.15% of women treated by female doctors died within 30 days. This is compared to the 8.38% treated by male doctors. For male patients, the difference in percentage between female and male doctors was only .08%.
The study was published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
The study also notes that findings could be different for younger patient populations, as this specific study looked at people aged 65 and older.
A separate study from 2002 found that female doctors spent 23 minutes on average with a patient, compared to 21 minutes for male doctors. Researchers also found female doctors “talked more about psychosocial issues, gave more positive talk, and more actively sought patient input.”
Another study published in JAMA in 2021 found that female patients who had a female surgeon saw fewer complications.
@scrippsnews A new #study found that #women who are treated in a hospital setting by female doctors, as opposed to male doctors, are less likely to die. For #men, there was little difference in death rates when looking at female versus male doctors. Here’s what the study found. #healthtok #hospital ♬ original sound - Scripps News