A new study finds that women live longer when they see female doctors. This study adds to a body of research that finds women and minorities who see female doctors have better health than their counterparts, reports Liz Szabo of NBC News.
The study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that women who are hospitalized are more likely not to face a hospital readmission and not to die within 30 days of hospital discharge if they are being treated by a female doctor.
The study looked at almost 800,000 hospitalized people with Medicare who were over 65. A statistically significant higher percentage of them died within 30 days if they were treated by a male doctor than if they were treated by a female doctor, 8.38 percent v. 8.15 percent. That difference amounts to 5,000 lives that could be saved.
Of note, the gender of the doctor did not affect the lives of men who were hospitalized or their readmission to the hospital. Women and minorities have been found to get worse medical care than white men from male physicians.
It’s not clear why women fare better when they are treated by female doctors. But, it could be that women are better able to communicate with female doctors. There is less likelihood of misunderstanding and bias and of having pain and other symptoms overlooked.
Another study found that women and people of color who see male doctors have between a 20 percent and 30 percent greater likelihood of misdiagnosis than white men.
This Just Care post reports on several studies showing that people who see female doctors appear to have better health outcomes. The research suggests that female doctors might be better listeners and hew more closely to clinical guidelines. A 2016 Harvard study looked at 1.5 million Medicare patients who were in hospital. They found that the male and female patients who had female doctors had a reduced risk of death as well as a reduced likelihood of being rehospitalized after discharge than patients treated by male doctors.
Here’s more from Just Care:
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