Differences in male and female GP medical practice methods remain after 20 years
Two decades ago a study found that male and female GPs had different general practice characteristics and managed different types of medical conditions, and that many of these differences were inherent to GP sex.
A study published in the Medical Journal of Australia has found these differences remain, even though the proportion of GPs who are female has doubled.
Using BEACH data, the researchers investigated whether the sex specific differences found twenty years ago remain with today’s GPs, or if they levelled out with the increased number of female GPs in the workforce.
Our study shows that compared with male GPs, current practising female GPs are younger and less likely to work as a solo GP. They see far more female patients and younger patients than male GPs do; and their patients present with more issues and different types of problems, Mr Christopher Harrison from the University of Sydney’s BEACH study said.
“After taking these differences into account, female GPs remain more likely to manage psychosocial, female-specific or problems of a general nature,” Mr Harrison said.
“Moving beyond the previous study, we also found differences in management practices that were inherent to GP sex, with female GPs more often using clinical treatments, pathology tests, referrals and imaging.
“This study shows that, other things being equal, female and male GPs manage different problems and use different management methods – just because of their sex.
“It seems that the Australian general practice workforce is split by GP sex into groups practising different styles of medicine.
“Further research into how often male and female GPs see their patients in a year is needed to examine whether the higher use of resources per female-GP encounter (through additional tests and referrals) translates to higher or lower resource use overall.”
The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association.
The statements or opinions that are expressed in the MJA reflect the views of the authors and do not represent the official policy of the AMA unless that is so stated.
CONTACT: Mr Christopher Harrison 0434 632 800
Ms Kath Kenny 0478 303 173
Media Advisor, University of Sydney
