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FEMALE DOCTORS ORDER MORE SCREENING TESTS FOR WOMEN.

Are female physicians more likely than male physicians to perform mammograms and Pap smears? To find out, a team in Minnesota used data from 97,962 women enrolled in a large health plan that paid for both tests. The team identified each woman's primary-care physician and calculated how often each physician obtained the two tests.

After adjustment for patient age and the physician's age and specialty, female physicians were twice as likely as males to obtain a Pap smear and 1.4 times as likely to obtain a mammogram for women aged 40 and older. Male internists and family physicians clearly ordered these tests less often than their female counterparts, but there was little difference between male and female gynecologists. Male doctors under age 38 were the least likely to order screening tests, particularly Pap smears.

Comment: It is unclear whether these findings hold true in other practice settings. The study could indicate that residency training puts inadequate emphasis on prevention, that young male IMs and FPs are uncomfortable with issues of female sexuality, or that patients are uncomfortable discussing these issues with young male doctors. It's also possible that women who choose female physicians are more aware of the need for mammograms and Pap smears.

— ALK

Published in Journal Watch General Medicine August 24, 1993

Citation(s):

Lurie N et al. Preventive care for women: does the sex of the physician matter. N Engl J Med 1993 Aug 12 329 478-482.

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