Sex Differences in the Pattern of Patient Referrals to Male and Female Surgeons.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Studies have found that female surgeons have fewer opportunities to perform highly remunerated operations, a circumstance that contributes to the sex-based pay gap in surgery. Procedures performed by surgeons are, in part, determined by the referrals they receive. In the US and Canada, most practicing physicians who provide referrals are men. Whether there are sex-based differences in surgical referrals is unknown.

Objective

To examine whether physicians' referrals to surgeons are influenced by the sex of the referring physician and/or surgeon.

Design, setting, and participants

This cross-sectional, population-based study used administrative databases to identify outpatient referrals to surgeons in Ontario, Canada, from January 1, 1997, to December 31, 2016

SUBMITTER: Dossa F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8581775 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature