Does gender have an influence on the patient-physician communication? Obviously yes is the answer, but this influence may be quite different depending on the specific circumstances in the patient-physician encounter. In this review the starting point are the differences in male and female communication in general. Furthermore the literature regarding the question if female and male physicians communicate differently with their patients will be discussed. Another topic is the question if patients talk differently to male and female physicians and if men and women communicate differently with their physician. Recently the question if female and male patients get different diagnostic and therapeutic procedures has gained much interest. There are few data answering the question if gender dyads (e.g. female patient-female doctor) have specific communication patterns. Very little is known about how being gay or lesbian influences patient-physician communication.
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