If you’re an elderly patient in the hospital, maybe you’d better ask to have a female internist overseeing your care.
A Medicare date analysis discussed in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that patients overseen by female internists were less likely to die or be readmitted in the short run than those treated by male physicians
“These findings suggest that the differences in practice patterns between male and female physicians, as suggested in previous studies, may have important clinical implications for patient outcomes,” the authors wrote.
“There is evidence in the primary care setting suggesting that, compared with male physicians, female physicians are more likely to practice evidence-based medicine, perform as well or better on standardized examinations, and provide more patient-centered care. Patients of female primary care physicians also experience fewer emergency department visits compared with patients of male primary care physicians.”
To read the report in JAMA Internal Medicine, please hit this link.
