Gender Bias in the Emergency Department

We applaud the authors’ exploration of the topic of provider gender bias in miscarriage care in the Emergency Department (ED) in the article Emergency Physician gender influences early pregnancy loss management: a multisite retrospective cohort study.1 Unfortunately, in most settings, patients are generally dissatisfied with their miscarriage management and approximately half change providers as a result of the care they receive. As 50% of patients will change their decision based on provider recommendation, physician bias plays a critical role in practice management and ultimately patient decision-making.2 3 This is particularly important in the emergency setting as 70% of patients with early bleeding in pregnancy present first to the ED.4 Bias in medicine is omnipresent and, as the authors discuss, studies have shown that physicians who identify as female are more likely to refer to subspecialists, consider patient preference, and be more...
Source: Emergency Medicine Journal - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Commentary Source Type: research