Drug Safety Gap: Surgeons Report Fewer Adverse Reactions Than Medical Doctors
Swedish researchers found that physicians in surgical specialties report drug side effects at one-quarter the rate of their medical counterparts, raising questions about how much patient harm goes undetected. The finding also reveals an unexpected bias: doctors report adverse reactions more often when treating patients of their own gender, suggesting systematic blind spots in pharmacovigilance.
Originaltitel: Physicians’ gender and specialty in relation to adverse drug reaction reporting in Sweden
PURPOSE: To evaluate the possible influence of gender and specialty on adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting among physicians before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This retrospective nationwide register study analysed all ADR reports submitted by physicians to the Swedish Medical Products Agency during 2017 and 2023 (n = 4079 and 3740, respectively). The reporting rates were calculated and stratified by gender and specialty. RESULTS: The highest reporting rate among physicians was observed in medical specialties, followed by primary care and psychiatry (27, 10, and 12, reports/100 physicians in 2017; 18, 15, and 9 in 2023). The lowest reporting rates were observed for surgical and hospital service specialties (8 and 1 in 2017; 6 and 1 in 2023). Male and female physicians reported ADRs to a similar extent and both reported more frequently on female patients. Gender concordance between physician and patient was associated with significantly higher reporting (p < 0.001 in 2017; p = 0.041 in 2023). CONCLUSION: Reporting varied across specialties, and gender concordance emerged as a previously unrecognized factor influencing ADR reporting. These findings provide new opportunities for targeted interventions to enhance physician participation in pharmacovigilance.