Recognition and training
A large-scale surgical study in 2021 made a few waves. The study analyzed whether it makes a difference if women are operated on by men or by women. The results showed that women who had been operated on by men exhibited a higher level of risk after the surgery, compared with men who had been operated on by men or by women. The risk took the following forms:
- 15% higher risk for a worse surgery result
- 16% higher risk for complications
- 11% higher risk for repeat hospitalization
- 20% higher risk for a longer period of hospitalization
- 32% higher risk for mortality
The study authors provided the following potential reasons for these differences:
- Male physicians underestimate the severity of symptoms in their female patients
- Women are less comfortable indicating their postoperative pain to a male physician
- Different working style and treatment decisions between female and male physicians
- Unconsciously incorporated role patterns and preconceptions
“Our potential solutions are recognition and training. We need a personalized style of medicine; we need to have a closer look. We owe our male and female patients as much,” said Dr. Späthling-Mestekemper.
This article was translated from the Medscape German Edition and a version appeared on Medscape.com.