The study referred to is part of a wider international study. A paper on the Irish study, which was carried out by the Department of Health promotion, NUI, Galway, was recently published in the Irish Medical Journal.
It should be noted that the study did not make any recommendations on standardising prescribing. It found, overall, that there were no significant variations in prescribing patterns with age, as might be expected, but there were some differences with gender. For example, female GPs were more likely to have reservations about the risk of breast cancer reflected both in their caution about prescription in the case of a significant family history and their greater likelihood of routinely sending their patients for mammography screening both before prescribing HRT and at regular intervals while on HRT.
However, the study did not, in any way, conclude that women doctors take fewer chances with their patients' health than male doctors. In fact, while the authors of the study referred to some possible reasons for differences found in their study, for example, that increased sensitivity to breast cancer by female GPs as women themselves might be relevant, they concluded that it was beyond the scope of their present research to speculate on any such possible reasons.
