Hospital patients are ‘LESS likely to die if they’re treated by female doctors’

PATIENTS who are treated by female doctors are less likely to die than those treated by male doctors, according to new research.

The study also showed people treated by women were also less likely to be readmitted to hospital.

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Scientists from the University of California in the US analysed the records of 1.5million people who were hospitalised between 2011 and 2014 for the study.

They discovered that while 11.49 per cent of patients treated by men died within 30 days of treatment, only 11.07 per cent of patients treated by women met the same fate.

And patients treated by female doctors were also less likely to be readmitted to hospital within 30 days, with just 15.02 per cent needing to return to hospital, compared to 15.57 per cent.

But male doctors were found to have treated more patients overall, according to researchers.

Only around a third – 32.1 per cent – of patients were treated by a female doctor and female doctors tended to be younger than their male counterparts.

Previous research has suggested that female doctors are more likely to stick to clinical guidelines and provide preventative care more often.

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But male medics are still paid more, studies have shown, with women more likely to work part-time and take career breaks in order to have children.

Author Dr Yusuke Tsugawa, from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, said: "These findings suggest that the differences in practice patterns between male and female physicians, as suggested in previous studies, may have important clinical implications for patient outcomes.

"Understanding exactly why these differences in care quality and practice patterns exist may provide valuable insights into improving quality of care for all patients, irrespective of who provides their care."

The findings were published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.