Patients treated by female physicians in hospital are less likely to die or be readmitted compared to those cared for by male physicians, according to new research from the University of Toronto and ICES , a non-profit Ontario research institute.
The findings, based on an analysis of more than 950,000 adults hospitalized in Ontario over a 15-year period, suggest that treatment by female physicians may be associated with better short-term and long-term outcomes among patients hospitalized with common medical diagnoses.
The study was published in JAMA Network Open .
"Past research has largely focused on surgical patients and the admitting physician only," says the study's lead author Angela Jerath, a scientist at ICES and Sunnybrook Research Institute and an associate professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine at U of T's Temerty Faculty of Medicine. "Our findings add to the growing body of research examining the relationship between physician sex and patient outcomes, broadening the evidence beyond surgical care to a wider range of medical conditions and other physicians."
The study analyzed ICES data on patients hospitalized between January 2008 and December 2022 for one of seven common medical diagnoses such as acute myocardial infarction and pneumonia. More than 259,000 of the patients were treated by female physicians and over 698,000 by male physicians.
As care may transfer between multiple physicians during a hospital stay, the researchers examined whether patient outcomes varied according to the sex of the most responsible physician and the extent to which patients received care from female physicians during their hospital stay.
Patients cared for by female physicians had a lower 30-day mortality compared to those cared for by male physicians (12.3 per cent vs. 13.7 per cent), as well as a slightly lower hospital readmission rate (18.6 per cent vs. 18.9 per cent).
Greater exposure to care from female physicians during hospitalization was also associated with seven per cent lower odds of dying within 30 days. Similar patterns were observed at 90 days and one year.
A possible explanation for this difference is that female physicians may engage in more patient-centred communication and spend more time with patients. Furthermore, female physicians may be more likely to order guideline-directed treatments, consult colleagues and share decision-making.
Jerath says the goal isn't to favour any one demographic of physicians, but rather to "identify practices and behaviours" to improve care across the health-care system.
"An important strength of this study is that, unlike surgical care, patients admitted to hospital for medical conditions are generally assigned physicians based on rotating schedules rather than patient or referring physician preferences, helping to minimize referral bias," she says.
Jerath and her study co-authors say the findings warrant further research to determine whether clinical care differs by the sex of physicians and whether these findings can be extended to other settings locally and in other countries.
The study was funded by ICES, the Ontario Ministry of Health, the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care, the Canada Research Chairs Program and U of T.
