A new study has revealed that female patients are far more likely to die after or during surgery if their doctor is a man rather than a woman.
The new model, created by surgeons Amalia Cochran and Andrea Riner at the University of Florida College of Medicine, looked at outcomes of more than 1.3 million patients who underwent one of 21 common elective surgeries in Ontario, Canada between 2007 and 2019.
The model found that when a male surgeon completes surgery the female patient is 16 percent more likely to experience complications, 20 percent more likely to remain in the hospital for longer, and 32 percent more likely to die, compared to those treated by a female surgeon.
As of yet, there is no understanding as to why this is the case, though some have suggested that female patients have more follow-up examinations with female doctors than if their doctor was male.
The paper states:
"Surgeons likely believe they provide the same quality of care to patients irrespective of identity. However, these data underscore an under-appreciated phenomenon and highlight a measurable repercussion of implicit bias. Metrics of surgeon outcomes with regard to patient identity should be developed and incorporated into performance reviews."
Adding:
"Female patients with surgical disease should not be disadvantaged because there simply are not enough female surgeons or surgeons who are competent in the care of female patients. While data are lacking, the concerns faced by female patients undergoing surgery may be even greater for gender-nonconforming and transgender patients. We owe it to patients to provide them with the best outcomes, regardless of how their identities may align with ours."
This isn't the first study to look at this topic. A study in 2018 showed that patients in general were more likely to die at Florida hospitals if they were being treated by a male doctor as opposed to a female doctor.
While female doctors may have better outcomes only around 27% of doctors in Canada are female while even less make up the number of doctors in the United States.
This study suggests that more effort should be made in training doctors in both how to treat and interact with patients of different genders.
[Based on reporting by: science alert]
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