Gender Differences in Patient-Physician Communication in Ophthalmic Practice, Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Period

Physician communication patterns can increase patient satisfaction and adherence to therapy in the primary care setting. This study investigated gender differences in ophthalmologist communication patterns before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Retrospective cohort study.

Messages sent by ophthalmic patients at Penn Medicine from 2017 to 2022 were collected. Differences in the number of physician messages sent for a given patient, median response length, and response time to patient inquiries and messages were examined based on year and physician gender.

Female ophthalmologists sent longer response messages to their patients (median [25th, 75th percentiles] response length for women vs men: 672 [492-965] characters vs 637 [460, 918] characters; P < .0001) and a higher number of response messages per patient than their male counterparts (mean [SD] for women vs men: 5.5 [2.9] vs 3.0 [1.5]; P = .04). There was an increase in this gender difference in the peri- and post-COVID-19 period (ie, 2020-2022) (P = .007). Male ophthalmologists sent a higher percentage of same-day responses from 2017 to 2020 (P < .0001), whereas female ophthalmologists sent a higher percentage of same-day responses from 2021 to 2022 (P < .0001). The largest gender difference in same-day responses occurred in 2020 (34% for men vs 30% for women; P < .0001).

Gender differences exist in ophthalmologist communication patterns, and the COVID-19 pandemic impacted these differences. Future studies will be helpful in determining the potential association of these specific communication patterns with patient satisfaction assessments, eye health outcomes, and physician burnout.