Doctors influenced by age of patients

Doctors are influenced by the age of their patients when deciding on what type of treatment is appropriate, research has shown.

A study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) revealed that GPs and hospital doctors made different recommendations for patients depending on how old they were.

It suggested that older patients were less likely to be referred to a specialist or given certain tests.

Around 90 doctors took part in the survey, filling in questionnaires on how they would treat fictional patients between the ages of 45 and 92.

The results implied that older patients were less likely to be referred to a cardiologist or given an angiogram.

“I’d like to think that I would treat the individual,” one doctor commented. “I think generally you have to try and identify from an individual what is in their best interests.

“I don’t think bypass surgery in an 87-year-old is in their interests.”

Half of the respondents were influenced by the age of the fictional patients. They were on average five years older than those doctors who were not influenced by patient age.