Physician Gender Matters: Female Doctors Linked to Improved Patient Recovery Rates, Review Finds

The review, published in BMC Health Services Research, found that patients treated by female physicians had significantly lower odds of mortality than those treated by male physicians. Additionally, female physicians were associated with fewer hospital readmissions, suggesting that it may contribute to better long-term patient outcomes.

Previous studies have suggested that patients treated by female physicians may experience better outcomes and lower healthcare costs compared to those treated by male physicians. Physician-patient sex concordance has also been linked to improved patient outcomes. However, other studies have found no significant differences in outcomes based on physician sex. Despite these mixed findings, there is a lack of pooled evidence examining the association between physician sex and clinical outcomes across medical and surgical settings.

Given this gap and the inconsistent results of prior observational studies, the primary objective of Angela Jerath, Department of Anesthesia, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center, Toronto, ON, Canada, and colleagues was to conduct a comprehensive meta-analysis to assess the relationship between physician sex and patient outcomes across various medical and surgical specialties. Additionally, their secondary objective was to explore the role of physician-patient sex concordance in influencing patient outcomes.

For this purpose, the researchers conducted a random-effects meta-analysis following the PRISMA guidelines, which was prospectively registered on PROSPERO. MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched from their inception to October 4th, 2023, and the search was supplemented with a hand-search of relevant studies. Observational studies involving adults (≥ 18 years) that assessed the impact of physician sex across both surgical and medical specialties were included in the analysis. The risk of bias was evaluated using ROBINS-I. A pre-defined subgroup analysis was performed based on patient type (surgical versus medical).

The primary outcome was all-cause mortality, while secondary outcomes included complications, hospital readmission, and length of stay.

Key Findings:

• A total of 35 observational studies (n = 13,404,840) were analyzed, with 20 studies (n = 8,915,504) assessing surgeon sex and 15 studies (n = 4,489,336) focusing on physician sex in medical/anesthesia care.
• The risk of bias was rated as moderate for 15 studies, severe for 15, and critical for 5.
• Mortality rates were significantly lower among patients treated by female physicians compared to male physicians (OR 0.95), a finding consistent across both surgeon and non-surgeon physicians.
• No significant evidence of publication bias was detected.
• Female physicians in medical/anesthesia care were associated with significantly lower hospital readmission rates (OR 0.97).
• In a qualitative synthesis of 9 studies (n = 7,163,775), patient-physician sex concordance was generally associated with better outcomes, particularly for female patients treated by female physicians.

"Patients treated by female physicians exhibited lower mortality rates, and those receiving medical or anesthesia care from female physicians had fewer hospital readmissions than those treated by male physicians. Additionally, physician-patient sex concordance was linked to improved outcomes, particularly among female patients," the researchers wrote.

"To better inform healthcare strategies and patient care, further research is needed to explore these effects across various care settings and countries, as well as to understand the underlying mechanisms and long-term outcomes.," they concluded.

Reference:

Heybati, K., Chang, A., Mohamud, H. et al. The association between physician sex and patient outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Health Serv Res 25, 93 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-12247-1