Tuesday, October 03, 200611
Implications of the feminization of medicine
Less malpractice:
Nearly half of medical school students nationwide are now female, and as they enter the profession, they are making patient care friendlier and therefore may be less likely to get sued than male physicians.Possibly exacerbating the physician shortage:
For the typical patient, having a woman physician means longer office visits. They typically spend more time talking with and counseling patients, according to a 2002 analysis in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
That extra time may also mean a longer wait to see a doctor. A full-time male doctor typically sees 102 patients per week; a full-time female doctor, 87. The discrepancy is aggravated by the fact that women tend to draw more patients into a practice at the same time that they are more apt to work part-time.
Comments
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CJD
Do you mean being nice to people means that it is less likely that they will consult a lawyer about your conduct?
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Gasman
Exactly CJD.
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CJD
"It means that many factors other than causation, breach of standard, and resulting harm go into the creation of a lawsuit."
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CJD
But Gasman, before this becomes another pissing match, you should really take what I'm saying to heart. Multiple studies BY PHYSICIANS have shown this. I'm sure it doesn't surprise you - it's the same in any customer service situation.
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lawyersux
Bad outcomes have nothing to do with "customer service". In my last lawsuit, where family was suing after mom did too much cocaine and dropped dead in the ER, the family was suing no matter who the doc was, male female, dog. They sued everyone who's name pissed the chart. I know an ER director who's name used to be on every chart, so he'd be dragged into lawsuits when he was doing his military time in Afghanistan.
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CJD
I'm starting to think you can't read. I never said bad outcomes were about customer service.
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lawyersux
No,it's you who can't read; you somehow equated the risk of lawsuits with customer service, which is utter bullshit in my opinion.
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CJD
Forgive me if I take the word of physicians who have actually studied the issue and have a clue about it.
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lawyersux
What study are you referring to which shows a direct corellation between "customer service" and likelihood to sue?
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zachawry
I distinctly remember (reading with interest because my wife is a doctor) the results of a malpractice study that said, essentially, doctors sued for malpractice were *on average* no more likely to make mistakes than doctors who are not sued.
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boatski
Being genuinely nicer=spending more time with each person=catching the subtle symptoms and signs which otherwise might be missed=not making as much money=but a little more piece of mind and maybe happier! At least on the diagnosis end this is true. I think studies of human behavior, emotions and reactions are hard to be scientific about. Gut feeling and personal experience counts for a lot.
Post a Comment »5:04 PM
It means that many factors other than causation, breach of standard, and resulting harm go into the creation of a lawsuit. Where the courts err is that the system fails to objectively evaluate claims, but continues to rely upon subjective and emotional factors in reaching conclusions. Garbage in, garbage rulings out.
7:45 PM
Well of course many factors go into a lawsuit starting. That's any lawsuit. If the other guy hits my car and his insurer lowballs me a few hundred dollars, it may not be worth my time to argue about it. Same thing with deciding to consult a lawyer. Most people have no idea what the legal standards for a claim are, including most physicians.
The lawyer serves as the gatekeeper beyond that, because it is his/her money on the line.
"Where the courts err is that the system fails to objectively evaluate claims, but continues to rely upon subjective and emotional factors in reaching conclusions. Garbage in, garbage rulings out."
Unfortunately for you, the first nonpartisan study in decades proved this claim wrong. And since I'm pretty sure you have no idea what the standard a judge uses when he makes "rulings", you have no idea what you're talking about.
8:55 PM
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6:00 PM
The great distinguishing factor between those who get sued for malpractice and those who don't is not competance at all (on average, of course); it's how well they are liked by their patients.
In a nutshell, if an arrogant doctor blows off his/her patients and a bad outcome results, they are more likely to sue if he was very nice before the same outcome.
This was backed up by heavy statistical sampling of court cases, but it's also just common sense. If something goes wrong, you're much more likely to say "well, doctors are people too, and sh*t happens" if the doctor had a good relationship with you to begin with.
12:38 AM
Regarding the physician shortage, at least in primary care in the Western US, as a long-time locums physician, I think any shortage is no greater than its ever been and probably less. I often wonder if the people who study and pronounce these shortages are taking into account the trend among states to legalize the independent practice of NP's and PA's. And are they still using as ideal standards the Physician/Population ratios from the old days when the physicians were the only providers?
Another interesting aspect: those who are studying and pronouncing shortages often are working in medical institutions and thus somewhat biased since greater med student increases equals greater job security for them!
6:27 PM