It is interesting to note that females who are physicians make an average of 8% less then there male counterpart. That is almost $20,000 less. At the academic level, physicians who
are male get more funding for their research and more likely to become a full-time professor at twice the rate. This is a historical disparity mostly attributed to male dominance in the
work field and domestic responsibilities such as part-time schedules and maternity leave.
New research from the University of Harvard look at records of more than 1.5 million visits from patients of Medicare. They discovered that within a month period, patients have a lower rate
of remission and deaths if they were treated by the female physician.
It didn’t matter what kind condition the individual had or the severity levels. It also didn’t matter if the patient was randomly selected to be assigned to a certain physician. The
results were always the same for the female physician.
Researchers have tried to point out some discrepancy but what they think is the cause could be likely the female physician tend to provide preventive care to their patients along with
psycho-social counseling. One example would be suggestions/encouragement such as applying sunscreen and explaining its
benefits. Also noted by the researcher is that female doctors were more oriented in a communication centered towards being more reassuring, encouraging as well as being more positive. The
study also recognized that the patient stayed longer with their female doctor.
Overall the study should not make you disregard the male counterpart because it is impractical. Depending where you live it is difficult enough to see a doctor let alone a female one which
makes up one third of physicians. The point being is that you have to ask the questions on your condition and it goes both ways for vacation to be clear and concise between Doctor and
patient.
The insights from the studies will only help doctor to patient relationship and help improve our health system.