Takeaway
Gender-bias in clinical report writing is rarely discussed, yet its implications for healthcare outcomes, budgets and staff retention are profound.
Gender-bias in clinical report writing is rarely discussed, yet its implications for healthcare outcomes, budgets and staff retention are profound.
Professional variability in clinical reports
The health professions do not share a common, standardized clinical writing format. Male-dominated health professions are mostly educated by men and frame their reports quite differently from female-dominated professions who are mostly educated by women. Women within male-dominated professions such as medical and pharmaceutical, do not have gender-bias issues in their clinical report writing. The issue seems to lie within the training, and how students are taught to frame their clinical reports.
Consequences of non-standardized clinical reports
The consequences of non-standardized clinical reports include –
- poorer outcomes for patients,
- poorer communication between clinicians,
- increased staff turnover.
Pharmaco-nutrition is particularly vulnerable to the consequences incurred by non-standardized formats. The training of doctors and pharmacists does not effectively include nutrition’s fundamental role in health. Consequently, they do not fully comprehend the consequences of deficit nutrient impacts on health outcomes. For example, doctors and pharmacists consistently prescribe medicines that are known to impair the availability of a range of nutrients. They also do not, as standard practice, initiate regular monitoring and/or prophylactic interventions for all those nutrients.
The primary gate-keepers of pharmaco-nutrition interventions are typically doctors and pharmacists.
How other clinicians frame their clinical reports can influence whether their pharmaco-nutrition management strategies are applied. Non-application of the recommendations typically means outcomes that include -
- for the consumer: delayed recovery, extended duration of the health issue, non-recovery ie chronicity;
- for the health professional: sense of professional disrespect, perceived diminished value of their contribution, and ultimately departure from the profession and healthcare sector.
Testing the concept
As this concept has been a recent, shocking revelation for me, I tested the concept on 3 AI tools. ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini were chosen because they do not require accounts for immediate access. The following prompt and template were pasted into the 3 AI tools, and were tested twice on different days.
Prompt
Is the following template credible and authoritative for doctors and pharmacists?
Template
Mrs XXX is in the difficult position of being prescribed a proton pump inhibitor and having a wound that is unlikely to heal properly whilst a proton pump inhibitor is prescribed. Advisable to consider –
- whether the proton pump inhibitor prescription is still required;
- if the proton pump inhibitor can be ceased until the wound is healed.
Testing on different days generated different advice. I concluded the AI tools are an unreliable format for testing the concept at this stage of their development!
Clinical Concerns
The consequences of this hidden form of gender-bias are profound. Questions we could and should be asking include -
Proposed solution
A standardized format, taught across the health professions sector, would ensure non-gendered framing of clinical reports.
The creation of a multi-nation, multi-profession working party to develop an effective, inter-profession framework. This team would also facilitate the introduction and distribution of the standardized format globally.
Clinical Question
Seemingly we have to develop our own pharmaco-nutrition key factors for our clinical reports. Which key factors have you chosen to typically include in your clinical reports?
Conclusions
Gender-bias in clinical report writing is insidiously damaging and can be addressed with standardized clinical reports across the health professions.
Cite: Coleman, Y. 2026. The Root of the Bias: How Professional Training Shapes Clinical Reports. MedNut Mail https://medicationsandnutrition.com/the-root-of-the-bias-how-professional-training-shapes-clinical-reports/ Accessed (date)
Professional Notice
The information in this article is designed to support healthcare professionals. It is not an exhaustive clinical protocol. Healthcare professionals are advised to maintain adequate professional supervision to ensure Duty of Care obligations with respect to safe administration of medicines is met for each individual consumer.
Core Philosophy
Whilst medications have profoundly improved global health outcomes, they typically also introduce nutritional challenges. By proactively identifying and addressing these nutritional harms, we can bridge the gap towards achieving better health outcomes.
