Does Provider Gender Affect the Quality of Primary Care?

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Medical Quality Improvement
• Gender Studies in Medicine

Background:

• Previous research suggests women providers may have a more patient-centered communication style.
• Some studies indicate women primary care providers may achieve higher quality performance measures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate potential gender-based disparities in the quality of primary care processes and outcomes.
• To compare the performance of male and female primary care providers across a comprehensive set of quality measures.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective analysis of one year of primary care performance data (2018-2019).
• Involved 586 primary care providers (311 women, 275 men) serving 241,428 patients across 96 clinics in 8 Veterans Affairs medical centers.
• Utilized a composite quality measure averaging 34 performance indicators, including cancer screening, diabetes care, cardiovascular care, and more.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant difference was observed in the composite quality measure between male and female providers (75.8% vs. 76.6%, p=0.17).
• Performance on individual quality measures also showed no significant differences between genders.
• Women providers demonstrated a slightly higher likelihood of screening at-risk diabetic patients for hypoglycemia and documenting alcohol behavior follow-up, though these differences were clinically minor.

Conclusions:

• The study found minimal evidence of performance differences in primary care quality measures based on provider gender.
• Overall quality of care appears consistent between male and female primary care providers in this Veterans Affairs setting.