Why Gender Concordance May Reduce Patient Satisfaction in Telemedicine

A groundbreaking study reveals that matching doctors and patients by gender in telemedicine may surprisingly decrease patient satisfaction, challenging traditional healthcare assumptions and underscoring the importance of culturally informed virtual care.

Being matched with a doctor of the same gender in telemedicine may lower patient satisfaction, a new study by researchers at Goa Institute of Management (GIM) has found and has flagged the need for culturally informed and evidence-based approaches in designing virtual healthcare platforms.

Studies conducted in the past on in-person healthcare settings have shown that patients tend to report higher satisfaction when matched with doctors of the same gender.

Contrary to this, the new study has found that in virtual consultations, gender concordance between physician and patient may reduce patient satisfaction.

The findings of the study have been published in the prestigious Journal of Medical Internet Research.

Key Findings on Gender and Telemedicine

According to Nafisa Vaz, Assistant Professor at GIM, the research contributes evidence-based findings to an area that has remained largely unexamined in India's culturally complex healthcare context.

While gender concordance has traditionally been associated with trust and satisfaction in face-to-face care, it has not previously been studied in telemedicine in India.

To bridge this gap, the study analysed 2, 86,196 anonymised teleconsultation records from a nationwide telemedicine provider, covering the period from January 2023 to December 2024, making it one of the largest studies on gender and telemedicine in the Global South, and spanning 20 medical specialities.

"The research team examined whether Gender Concordance (GC) influences patient satisfaction, clinical recovery, as self-reported by patients in a 21-day follow-up survey. The analysis controlled for consultation length, time of consultation, and physician resident level and found these variables to be statistically insignificant," Vaz told PTI.

The research team found that out of the 2,86,196 consultations, 60.4 per cent were gender concordant and 91.3 per cent of patients reported a positive experience overall.

"Gender concordance had a statistically significant negative association with patient satisfaction. An 'expectation-surprise' effect was observed among male patients, who reported higher satisfaction when treated by female clinicians, linked to perceived communication and empathy," she said.

"In gynaecology, female patients matched with female doctors were 4.5 times more likely to report successful clinical recovery. Overall, the research found that while doctorâ€\patient gender matching is not a universal predictor of success, it remains a critical factor for intimate health concerns," she added.

Additionally, patient satisfaction with the doctor's interaction, rather than their gender or years of experience, was found to be the strongest predictor of patient recovery.

Implications for Telehealth Platforms

"Our analysis found that in close-contact specialities such as gynaecology and urology, gender concordance can be prioritised. In adult medicine, where gender has less impact, flexible routing can be allowed. Patient autonomy needs to be incorporated into telehealth platform design," Vaz said.

"Gender-sensitive and empathy-focused communication training can be considered for medical practitioners to build trust with patients. Digital health cannot be culturally neutral. In India, gender dynamics shape virtual care in complex, speciality-dependent ways, and platform design must reflect that reality," Vaz added.