Gender shouldn’t affect doctor care
DEAR DOCTOR: I’ve read about a recent study that found that elderly patients with female doctors fared better than those who were treated by men. Is that true?
DEAR READER: You’re referring to the results of a study performed by Harvard researchers, published in December 2016 in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. Researchers analyzed data from more than 1.5 million Medicare patients 65 and older. What they found was that patients whose doctors we re women were less likely to be readmitted to the hospital in the next 30 days and had lower mortality rates than the patients who were treated by men.
The research suggests that female doctors are more likely to adhere to clinical guidelines, provide more preventive care and communicate more effectively than their male peers.
So what did we think of the results?
Dr. Glazier: My gut reaction is that it is very hard to generalize. Considering that this is a single study of modest statistical significance, I don’t give it tons of credence. What I would say is that it is paramount to find a doctor with whom you connect both personally and professionally, someone who is compassionate, kind and smart, all qualities that transcend gender.
Dr. Ko: As a female physician early in my career, I am naturally delighted to hear the findings. Medicine has historically been dominated by men, who have been seen as more intelligent and more capable than women. The results are validating and confirm my role to perform this noble work.
Since prior studies suggest that women tend to communicate better, listen more effectively and have more emotional intelligence, the message here is that communication is key. Our training of young physicians should focus on honing these skills and exemplifying these qualities.
But the truth is that there are as many male physicians who are compassionate communicators as there are women physicians who lack those qualities.