male colleagues—and clearly aren’t paid
what they’re worth: A new study
shows that patients treated by
women had higher survival
rates and were less likely to
be rehospitalized. In fact, the
researchers at Harvard School
of Public Health estimate that
if all doctors were female,
32,000 fewer Americans
would die every year. The
team analyzed records
from more than 1.5 million
hospital visits
involving Medicare
patients. People treated
by a female had slight
but statistically significan
lower risk of dying in the following month
and and of being admitted to the hospital
again than those treated by male doctors.
“If we had a treatment that lowered
mortality by 0.4 percentage points or half
a percentage point,” study leader Ashish
Jha tells The Washington Post, “we would
think of that as a clinically important treatment
we want to use for our patients.” It’s
unclear exactly why female doctors outperform
their male counterparts. Previous
studies suggest women spend more time
with their patients and are more likely than
men to offer reassurance, follow clinical
guidelines, and provide preventive care.