Why you want a female doctor: Study finds patients treated by women are more ... trends now
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
