Minimizing risk in the Emergency Room

See a woman doctor.

At times it seems that there are more studies than people. While the authors usually believe strongly that their studies are error-free and reflect the real world, that is not always the case, as we are all human beings. Nonetheless, studies are interesting.

One new study I looked at recently does not have a definitive conclusion. It only suggests that female heart attack patients may be at a higher risk of mortality in the emergency room if they see a male physician rather than a female one. Women are significantly less likely to survive heart attacks. According to 2016 American Heart Association statement, 26 percent of women will die within a year of a heart attack compared with just 19 percent of men. The gap widens with time: By five years after a heart attack almost half of women die, compared with 36 percent of men.

The study I looked at was done in Florida. The researchers  reviewed every heart attack case from every ER in the state. They found that if a heart attack patient was a woman and her emergency physician a man, her risk of death rises by about 12 percent. This means approximately one out of every 66 women with heart attacks dies in the emergency room if she sees a male doctor rather than a female one.

Interestingly, the study found that everyone was more likely to survive if they saw a female physician, and a study published last year in JAMA Internal Medicine indicated all patients of female physicians had lower mortality and hospital readmission rates.