THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON PHYSICIAN PRACTICE STYLE

As more women enter medicine, intriguing questions arise about how phy sician gender impacts practice style. To measure this influence in pri mary care encounters, 118 male and 132 female adult new patients, havi ng no stated preference for a specific physician, were randomly assign ed to university hospital primary care residents, and their initial en counters were videotaped. Forty-eight male and 33 female physicians pa rticipated. Patient health status was assessed before the visit with t he Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form General Health Survey. Physician practice style was evaluated by using the Davis Observation Code to an alyze videotapes of each initial visit. Patient satisfaction with medi cal care was assessed with satisfaction questionnaires. Contrary to pr ior reports, the difference between male and female physicians in tota l time spent with patients was small and statistically insignificant, and diminished further when controlling for patient gender and health status. Female physicians, however, were observed to engage in more pr eventive services and to communicate differently with their patients. These differences in practice style appear to explain partially the ob served higher patient satisfaction scores for female physicians. This study underscores the importance of careful measurement and control of potential confounding factors in clarifying the impact of physician g ender on practice style.