Physician Sex

Physician sex was not significantly associated with any clinical outcome in multivariable analyses. The null finding for physician sex in the Swiss setting contrasts with North American studies that associate female physician care with lower patient mortality, and a 2025 meta-analysis confirmed this survival advantage is largely confined to North American cohorts. The only care process association that reached corrected significance was a higher likelihood of female physicians prescribing non-indicated antihypertensives, but this association disappeared entirely in the later study period. Inpatient care involving rotating junior residents and multiple subspecialists dilutes the influence of any single physician's sex on patient outcomes. The high proportion of female physicians at the study institution may already produce a more equitable clinical environment, with institutional gender composition mattering beyond any individual physician's sex. Swiss medical education includes dedicated training on sex and gender bias, potentially narrowing behavioural differences between male and female physicians.