Human interactions differ based on the characteristics and experiences of the people involved. That is as true for an encounter between strangers on the street as it is for those seeking medical care. Characteristics over which a patient has no control can influence the standard of medical treatment that they receive.
For example, the sex of a patient can affect how medical professionals treat them when they undergo certain forms of care or report symptoms that they find concerning. Research has shown that sex bias arises in a variety of scenarios and can negatively impact medical care in several quantifiable ways. Specifically, female patients are often at greater risk of certain types of medical errors than male patients.
How can sex bias influence the care that patients receive?
Doctors may disregard women’s pain
There’s a popular misconception that women are weaker and therefore less pain-tolerant than men. While it is generally true that men tend to have stronger bones and more muscle mass when compared to women of the same size, that does not necessarily mean they tolerate pain better. In fact, research indicates that the opposite is often true. Women may have lower pain thresholds than men are more likely to develop chronic pain, but they often perform daily functions despite their pain. Still, many doctors are less likely to take a woman’s self-reported symptoms of pain seriously, which may result in her not receiving appropriate diagnosis and care.
Women’s risk of dying during surgery may be higher
Research into the outcome of surgical procedures shows an alarming trend. Specifically, female patients are noticeably more likely to die when male doctors perform their operations. They have a better chance of survival when the doctor who operates is a woman. Factors including the use of the male body as the standard in educational environments and subconscious bias may play into the greater risk of mortality when male surgeons operate on female patients.
Professionals may overlook deadly medical risks
Some of the most serious medical events people may experience include strokes and heart attacks. In theory, the professionals working at emergency rooms, doctor’s offices and urgent care facilities should be able to identify a stroke or a heart attack quickly to get a patient to care they need. In practice, they have likely learned the male symptoms for those conditions, which are different than the symptoms that women might develop. Women in need of immediate stabilization sometimes get turned away because professionals don’t recognize the unique symptoms they display.
Realizing that sex bias may have affected the outcome of surgery or could lead to diagnostic errors may help patients recognize cases of preventable medical malpractice. It may be possible to take legal action in cases where a doctor does not provide appropriate diagnostic support and treatment because of a patient’s sex.
