Study Finds Women Less Likely to be Prescribed Pain Medications
A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences analyzed patient pain data from two emergency departments and revealed that female patients were less frequently prescribed pain medication (opioids and nonopioids), compared to male patients. Results showed women spent longer time in the emergency department, leading to unnecessary suffering and preventable costs. The findings suggest that treatment by same-sex clinicians, computerized decision-support tools, and education on sex bias in prescribing could help address this bias.