Research Article: The Influence of Physician and Patient Gender on Risk Assessment for Lung Cancer Resection
Lead author: Mark K. Ferguson MD
Submitted by: Todd Lash, Publications Committee Chair

Patient gender was evaluated for treatment recommendations regarding surgical therapy for lung cancer. Gender-neutral vignettes representing low-risk, average-risk, and high-risk candidates for lung resection were paired with concordant videos of standardized patients (SPs). Cardiothoracic trainees and practicing thoracic surgeons read a vignette, provided an initial estimate of the percentage risk of major adverse events after lung resection, viewed a video (randomized to male or female SP), provided a final estimate of risk, and ranked the importance of the video in the final risk estimate. There was a significant difference between male and female physicians in the absolute change in estimated risk with male physicians having larger changes than female physicians. Differences in estimating complication risk for lung resection candidates are related to physician and patient gender that may create inequities in treatment recommendations. Read the research article in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery here.

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