Success in the treatment of certain diseases depends on many factors, one of the key ones being the doctor. But how do you know which doctor you can trust and which you can’t? According to recent studies, it is better to give preference to female doctors, as they do their job better, as evidenced by statistics. Their patients have a lower mortality rate and are less likely to need to be readmitted to hospital. However, an equally important factor was the gender of the patient. According to scientists, there is a fairly simple explanation for this.
Women doctors treat patients more effectively than men
Female doctors more effective than men
Scientists have been studying gender differences in health care for a long time and have conducted many studies. Moreover, some of them concerned not only doctors, but also patients. For example, one study showed that female patients are less likely than males to require intensive care and related procedures. But they are more often faced with late diagnosis. Also, women are often discharged from the hospital earlier than men, but doctors are more likely to underestimate their patients' pain or symptoms.
Also, many studies have shown that treatment by women doctors, including surgeons, often has more positive results. For example, a large 2017 study found that patients who had surgery on a woman were 12% less likely to die within the next month.
Female surgeons are more likely to have successful operations
Another study conducted in 2023 found that patients undergoing surgery in women had a reduced risk of poor postoperative outcome. Thus, taking into account the results of all previous works, we can come to the conclusion that, given the opportunity to choose, it is still better to give preference to a female doctor.
Which female doctors treat better — men or women?
In all previous studies, scientists did not look for a pattern between the gender of the doctor and the gender of the patient. Therefore, American researchers decided to eliminate this knowledge gap and conducted a large-scale study, during which they studied data from about 800 thousand patients. Among them were people over 65 years of age, as well as younger patients with disabilities, as well as end-stage kidney disease, which can cause dangerous complications of kidney failure.
All these people were hospitalized between 2016 and 2019. Overall, the results regarding physician gender for both male and female patients were consistent with previous studies. That is, they had higher survival rates and were also less likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge if they were treated by a female physician.
For male patients, the difference in the gender of the doctor treating them is not so important
However, the difference between the gender of the doctor and the effectiveness of treatment was most noticeable among female patients. The mortality rate among them was 8.15% if they were treated by a woman, and 8.38% if the attending physician was a man. At first glance, the difference is quite small, however, given that we are talking about a large number of people’s lives, it can be quite significant.As for male patients, the difference between who treated them was not so noticeable. For example, if the doctor was a woman, the mortality rate was 10.15%, and if they were treated by a male doctor, the mortality rate was increased to 10.23%. Researchers report this in the journal Annals of International Medicine. Of course, there is also a difference, but it is so insignificant that the influence of chance cannot be ruled out.
Why are women doctors better than men
According to researchers, it is hardly worth saying that male doctors know their job worse than women. Gender likely influences how doctors interact with their patients. Men may underestimate the severity of the condition of female patients. This may result in treatment being delayed or not being received in full.
Female patients may find it easier to communicate with a doctor of the same sex
In addition, female doctors may be better able to connect with their patients, resulting in better information. This is especially true for female patients. In addition, being treated by a female doctor allows female patients to avoid embarrassment and discomfort during examinations or conversations, which improves the quality of diagnosis. True, this is just a guess for now. Scientists expect to obtain more accurate information through future research.
Don't forget to subscribe to our Zen and Telegram channels so you don't miss the most interesting and incredible scientific discoveries!
It should be borne in mind that we are talking about statistics, that is, about the overall picture. If we consider individual cases, it may well be that treatment by a male doctor will be more effective than by a female doctor. And the most important thing is that modern doctors, in any case, treat more effectively than before. Just read what treatment methods doctors used in the Middle Ages. Therefore, the issue of choosing the gender of a doctor is actually not so pressing, although it should not be ignored either.