Time: At least that’s what a recent study of diabetic patients found. But the boys shouldn’t pack up their doctor kits yet.
In a new report released by the University of Montreal, investigators found that women outperformed men on certain metrics of patient care.
Valérie Martel, a masters candidate in the school’s department of health administration, Régis Blais, a professor in the department, and Roxanne Borges Da Silva, a professor of nursing, recruited 870 Quebec-based physicians—half men, half women—treating people with diabetes. A chronic condition, diabetes can be controlled only via constant vigilance to maintain proper blood sugar levels; that requires periodic visits to the doctor, and good compliance with taking a range of medications. To compare if a doctor’s gender affected patient behavior, the researchers evaluated physicians on three parts of standard diabetes treatment: prescribing periodic eye exams, scheduling frequent physical check-ups and keeping their patients on some mix of three different medications, such as statins to control cholesterol. On all of the metrics, the female doctors beat the males.
Categories: Americas