Women as Healthcare Consumers
By Keri Tomechko
Accounting for eighty percent of healthcare spending in the United States, women have undeniable economic influence and power as both healthcare consumers and primary caretakers. In light of individual, reproductive, and maternal health, women have more frequent and more complex personal healthcare needs, equating to more dollars invested in appointments, medications, and procedures. In addition, women often make healthcare decisions for their spouses, children, and parents.
Given this information, it would be intuitive to imagine that medical systems would work fervently to appeal to their female consumer base. By crafting a positive experience for and earning the loyalty of a woman, healthcare industries stand to gain not only her personal healthcare dollars, but also those of her children, spouse, and others in her social network; this economic weight cannot be overstated.
Even though investments in women’s healthcare would undoubtedly prove to be overwhelmingly strategic, tremendous issues–many largely addressable– prevail in the domain. For example:
Although research standards have advanced, the male-physiology-centric foundation of American medicine still echoes through modern disease education, diagnosis (women are 50% more likely than men to be misdiagnosed following a heart attack), and treatment (women are twice as likely to experience pharmaceutical side effects).
Despite high medical spending, maternal mortality is disproportionately prevalent in the US. In fact, maternal mortality doubled between 2002 and 2018.
1 in 10 women of reproductive age is estimated to suffer from endometriosis; yet this potentially debilitating condition remains underdiagnosed, under-researched, undertreated, and incurable.
Outside of oncology, a meager 1% of healthcare research and development is invested in female-specific conditions, despite the vast array of health concerns that fall in this category (consider contraceptives, fertility, maternal health, GYN, menopause).
74% of women report returning to the health system in which they delivered for future medical visits, regardless of whether that system was their previous healthcare provider. Despite the potential economic impact of this loyalty, hospitals fail to address the simple factors that research shows would vastly improve women's perceptions of their childbirth experiences, such as being involved in decisions made about their care.
Given the abundantly clear economic power of women, how could such a glaring disconnect between seller and consumer possibly prevail?
The answer to this puzzling phenomenon is shockingly simple; at the end of the day, who makes the calls? In the US, women comprise 13% of CEOs and 30% of C-suite positions; in the healthcare field, women account for a dismally meager 3% of chief medical officers, 6% of department chairs, and 9% of division chiefs. Investment in women’s health is an investment in societal strength. Remarkable potential exists in simply matching our healthcare investments with our healthcare needs.
Works Cited
“General facts on women and job based health,” Employee Benefits Security Administration fact sheet, US Department of Labor.
“Women die from heart attacks more often than men. Here’s why—and what doctors are doing about it,” Time, April 1, 2019
Zucker, I., Prendergast, B.J. Sex differences in pharmacokinetics predict adverse drug reactions in women. Biol Sex Differ 11, 32 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13293-020-00308-5
Eugene Declercq and Laurie Zephyrin, “Maternal mortality in the United States: A primer,” Commonwealth Fund, December 16, 2020.
“Endometriosis: Key facts,” World Health Organization, March 31, 2021.
Report of the Advisory Committee on Research on Women’s Health, Fiscal Years 2017-2018: Office of Research on Women’s Health and NIH Support for Research on Women’s Health, National Institutes of Health, October 2019.
What Matters Most to Expectant Mothers, According to Our 2,000-Patient Survey. The Advisory Board, 2019. www.advisory.com/Daily-Briefing/2019/01/15/pregnancy-story.
Hodnett, E. D. (2002). Pain and women's satisfaction with the experience of childbirth: A systematic review. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 186(5), S160-S172. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-9378(02)70189-0
Men dominate physician leadership. here's one way to balance the scales. Advisory Board. February 2020, www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2020/02/06/national-female-physicians#:~:text=While%20women%20comprise%20over%20half,and%209%25%20of%20division%20chiefs.