Patient Use of Physicians’ First (Given) Name in Direct Patient Electronic Messaging

Abstract

This cohort study examines factors that may contribute to whether patients address physicians differently through electronic messaging

Jane (or Dr Doe?) Will Reply to Your Patient Portal Message Now

“…As the thousand cuts mount, with experiences of bias at work, surging EHR workload (that is variably and often not compensated), disproportionate domestic and childcare responsibilities, and the collision of personal and professional responsibilities that often remove women physicians completely from the medical workforce, is it any wonder that the Great Resignation movement impacts women in medicine most drastically? In our view, the work by Harvey and colleagues and those before them supports urgent action by engaged and diverse leadership to reduce and mitigate the impact of unconscious bias to reduce burnout and attrition.…”

“…In this issue of JAMA Network Open, Harvey and colleagues 1 analyzed more than 90 000 electronic messages sent to physicians by more than 34 000 patients and found that women physicians, doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) physicians, and primary care physicians (PCPs) were more frequently addressed by first name instead of formal professional title. The authors found that women had greater than twice the odds as men to be addressed by their first name, even after adjusting for patient gender, physician age, degree, trainee vs faculty member, and specialty.…”

“…It is a phenomenon not unique to health care, and is reported to be experienced by women from minoritized racial and ethnic groups with more frequency. (In the study by Harvey and colleagues, the authors did not report racial and ethnic demographics of the physicians whose messages were analyzed.) Use of formal titles in medicine and many other professions is a linguistic signal of respect and professionalism.…”

Supporting Our Physician Parents (SOPPort): A pilot program for parental wellness at the Massachusetts General Hospital

“…Female physicians also further experience inequities at work, including a higher burden of after-hours documentation and over 25% more patient messages compared to men [13,14]. Surveys demonstrate that female physicians are more likely to turn down academic opportunities and leadership positions and are not comfortable discussing work-life integration with department leadership [15].…”

Patient Use of Physicians’ First (Given) Name in Direct Patient Electronic Messaging

“…In a previous survey of 333 physicians, almost three-quarters of respondents reported being called by their first (given) name, with annoyance reported in 61%. 1 A recent study revealed that having "DOCTOR" identification badge labels were associated with female physicians and physicians underrepresented in medicine experiencing substantially fewer episodes of bias from misidentification. 2 Here, we aim to determine factors that are associated with whether patients addressed physicians differently through electronic messaging.…”