Women physicians provide more preventive care and communicate differently with their patients than do their male counterparts, according to a new UC Davis study published this month in the journal Medical Care. "We have found that women physicians not only spend significantly more time focusing on such preventive care as Pap smears, testicular exams and scoliosis screening, but also communicate with their patients in a way that leads to more patient satisfaction," says Klea Bertakis, a family physician and lead investigator on the study. The researchers say their study is unique because it controls for all the variables that could affect physicians' practice patterns, including controlling for the health status of the patients. The study, based in part on patient surveys, found little difference in the amount of time male and female physicians spent with patients, but revealed that women physicians spent more time learning the patient's medical history and their current family status. "We think this may explain why we also found that both male and female patients were more satisfied with their female physicians," says Bertakis, professor and chair of the family practice department at the UC Davis School of Medicine and Medical Center.