Skip to main content
Canadian Family Physician logoLink to Canadian Family Physician
. 1991 Jan;37:72–81.

Female and Male Physicians: Different Practice Profiles

Will increasing numbers of female GPs affect practice patterns of the future?

David Keane, Christel A Woodward, Barbara M Ferrier, May Cohen, Charles H Goldsmith
PMCID: PMC2145142  PMID: 21234080

Abstract

In a descriptive study using provincial billing profiles, women physicians were found to perform fewer services, see fewer patients, and earn less. Their practices included relatively more female patients and were less likely to include emergency room duty, assists at technical or surgical procedures, visits outside the office, obstetrical care, or after-hours services. Women provided more psychotherapy and counseling, ordered more laboratory tests, and generated higher laboratory costs than the men.

Full text

PDF
72

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Adams O. Canada's doctors--who they are and what they do: lessons from the CMA's 1986 manpower survey. CMAJ. 1989 Jan 15;140(2):212–221. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bobula J. D. Work patterns, practice characteristics, and incomes of male and female physicians. J Med Educ. 1980 Oct;55(10):826–833. doi: 10.1097/00001888-198010000-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bowman M. W., Gehlbach S. H. Sex of physician as a determinant of psychosocial problem recognition. J Fam Pract. 1980 Apr;10(4):655–659. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bowman M., Gross M. L. Overview of research on women in medicine--issues for public policymakers. Public Health Rep. 1986 Sep-Oct;101(5):513–521. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Carney T. A. Women general practitioners: time for change. Practitioner. 1986 Sep;230(1419):745-6, 748. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Cohen M., Woodward C. A., Ferrier B. M. Factors influencing career development: do men and women differ? J Am Med Womens Assoc. 1988 Sep-Oct;43(5):142, 147-54. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Cooke M., Ronalds C. Women doctors in urban general practice: the doctors. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1985 Mar 9;290(6470):755–758. doi: 10.1136/bmj.290.6470.755. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Cooke M., Ronalds C. Women doctors in urban general practice: the patients. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1985 Mar 9;290(6470):753–755. doi: 10.1136/bmj.290.6470.753. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Eisenberg J. M. Physician utilization. The state of research about physicians' practice patterns. Med Care. 1985 May;23(5):461–483. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Ellsbury K., Schneeweiss R., Montano D. E., Gordon K. C., Kuykendall D. Gender differences in practice characteristics of graduates of family medicine residencies. J Med Educ. 1987 Nov;62(11):895–903. doi: 10.1097/00001888-198711000-00004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Emmons D. W. Changing dimensions of medical practice arrangements. Med Care Rev. 1988 Spring;45(1):101–129. doi: 10.1177/107755878804500105. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Greer S., Dickerson V., Schneiderman L. J., Atkins C., Bass R. Responses of male and female physicians to medical complaints in male and female patients. J Fam Pract. 1986 Jul;23(1):49–53. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Jennett P., Hunter K. L. Career and practice profiles of Alberta medical graduates (1973-85) practising in Alberta. CMAJ. 1988 Oct 1;139(7):625–628. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Linn L. S., Cope D. W., Leake B. The effect of gender and training of residents on satisfaction ratings by patients. J Med Educ. 1984 Dec;59(12):964–966. doi: 10.1097/00001888-198412000-00009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Maheux B., Dufort F., Lambert J., Berthiaume M. Do female general practitioners have a distinctive type of medical practice? CMAJ. 1988 Oct 15;139(8):737–740. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Mitchell J. B. Why do women physicians work fewer hours than men physicians? Inquiry. 1984 Winter;21(4):361–368. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Ogle K. S., Henry R. C., Durda K., Zivick J. D. Gender-specific differences in family practice graduates. J Fam Pract. 1986 Oct;23(4):357–360. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Ohsfeldt R. L., Culler S. D. Differences in income between male and female physicians. J Health Econ. 1986 Dec;5(4):335–346. doi: 10.1016/0167-6296(86)90008-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Preston-Whyte M. E., Fraser R. C., Beckett J. L. Effect of a principal's gender on consultation patterns. J R Coll Gen Pract. 1983 Oct;33(255):654–658. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Rosenblatt R. A., Cherkin D. C., Schneeweiss R., Hart L. G., Greenwald H., Kirkwood C. R., Perkoff G. T. The structure and content of family practice: current status and future trends. J Fam Pract. 1982 Oct;15(4):681–722. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Silberger A. B., Marder W. D., Willke R. J. Practice characteristics of male and female physicians. Health Aff (Millwood) 1987 Winter;6(4):104–109. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.6.4.104. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Woodward C. A., Cohen M., Ferrier B. M., Goldsmith C. H., Keane D. Correlates of certification in family medicine in the billing patterns of Ontario general practitioners. CMAJ. 1989 Nov 1;141(9):897–904. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Woodward C., Adams O. Physician resource databank: numbers, distribution and activities of Canada's physicians. Can Med Assoc J. 1985 May 15;132(10):1175-9, 1182-8. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Canadian Family Physician are provided here courtesy of College of Family Physicians of Canada

RESOURCES