Why Science Says You’re Better Off If Your Doctor Is a Woman

You’re better off with a female doctor when it comes to your health, according to a new study.

Researchers looked at the interactions between more than 200,000 patients and over 200 surgeons and found that women pay more attention to their patients.

Female physicians from 14 specialties spent on average more time documenting their patient encounters, wrote longer care notes, and spent more time reviewing electronic patient records.

The research is part of a growing body of research showing that female doctors show more compassion and are more likely to save patients’ lives.

Male surgeons were more likely than average to be connected to electronic health systems on one day per month, while women were more likely to do so on their days off.

According to a survey by the Association of American Medical Colleges, only 38 percent of doctors in the US are women.

The researchers evaluated 222,539 patient encounters of 224 surgeons in one hospital.

The majority, 70 percent, of the doctors were male, the rest were female.

In their analysis, the researchers searched 171,812 patient progress notes, 252,883 documents, and 2.1 million minutes spent in the electronic health record system.

The surgeons were trained in 14 specialties, of which general surgery was the most common.

In orthopedic surgery, the percentage of male surgeons was highest (84 percent), while in general surgery the most female surgeons worked (51 percent).

Male surgeons also tend to have more experience, with an average of 17 years, compared to nine years for women.

On average, patients treated by both sexes were between 57 and 59 years old.

Male surgeons scheduled 12 percent more appointments per day and 26 more per week than their female colleagues.

They also logged into electronic health systems about 18 times per month, while women did so 16 times per month.

However, female surgeons spent up to 158 percent more time in the system outside of work hours, compared to their male colleagues.

And while male surgeons wrote about 32 percent more medical notes than female surgeons, women wrote about 40 percent longer progress notes and took nearly twice as long to complete them.

Women were more likely to take notes manually rather than using AI or a transcription tool.

“These findings are consistent with previous studies showing that gender differences exist in the use of (electronic health records) among health care professionals,” the researchers wrote.

‘The reasons behind the differences in patient volume and medical record writing between male and female surgeons deserve further investigation. It is possible that variations in career choices and preferences contribute to these differences.’

‘For example, female surgeons sometimes choose lighter working hours to balance their personal and professional responsibilities.’

The team also suggested that with fewer patients, women have more time for administrative tasks, such as manually typing patient notes.

The major limitation of the study was that only surgeons from one institution were included, making the sample less diverse.

Another problem was that the study did not actually look at the quality of care provided or patient health outcomes.

The research was published Tuesday in JAMA Network Opened.