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Role of Physician Gender in Drug Therapy

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Sex and Gender Differences in Pharmacology

Part of the book series: Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology ((HEP,volume 214))

Abstract

There is evidence that female patients receive less intensified drug therapy in many medical conditions than male patients. However, there are only limited data regarding the influence of physician gender on drug therapy. It has been shown, for example, that female physicians tend to adhere more closely to guideline-recommended pharmacotherapy compared to their male counterparts. In some medical conditions where drug therapy is only one among various components of a complex interplay of therapeutic regimes (e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, depression, pain management), female physicians seem to achieve better overall intermediate outcomes and some studies suggest that “better” drug therapy is provided by female compared to male physicians. The reasons for the overall better outcomes may be superior communication skills of female physicians, participatory decision making, and consequently improved drug adherence in addition to or in combination with more effective non-pharmacologic treatment results. It is impossible to distinguish between the individual contributions of drug- and nondrug-related influence on such improved outcomes and thus to determine whether they are due to unconfounded physician gender effects on drug therapy. There is until now in no area of medicine evidence to suggest that a patient will consistently receive higher quality of drug therapy by switching to a physician of a specific gender.

Conflict of interest: The authors report no conflict of interest relevant to this work.

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Abbreviations

ACE:

Angiotensin converting enzyme

ARB:

Angiotensin receptor blocker

BMD:

Bone mineral density

CVD:

Cardiovascular disease

DBP:

Diastolic blood pressure

LDL:

Low-density lipoprotein

PCP:

Primary care physician

SBP:

Systolic blood pressure

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Preventive Medicine, University of Cologne, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Cologne, Germany

    I. Gouni-Berthold MD, FRSPH

  2. Evangelical Geriatrics Center Berlin (EGZB), Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    H. K. Berthold

  3. Lipid Clinic at the Interdisciplinary Metabolism Center, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Virchow Clinic Campus, Berlin, Germany

    H. K. Berthold

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  1. I. Gouni-Berthold MD, FRSPH
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  2. H. K. Berthold
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Correspondence to I. Gouni-Berthold MD, FRSPH .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Gender in Medicine (GiM), Center for Cardiovascular Research (CCR), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Hessische Str. 3-4, Berlin, 10115, Germany

    Vera Regitz-Zagrosek

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Gouni-Berthold, I., Berthold, H.K. (2013). Role of Physician Gender in Drug Therapy. In: Regitz-Zagrosek, V. (eds) Sex and Gender Differences in Pharmacology. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, vol 214. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30726-3_10

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