When we think of women’s health, we tend to think “pink”: breast cancer, contraception, Pap smears and pelvic exams.

There's this general belief from both physicians and patients that, except for the breasts and reproductive organs, women are pretty much little men—smaller versions of their male counterparts who experience an occasional bout of PMS or a menopausal hot flash. But practicing this type of “bikini medicine” is costing women their health and in some cases their lives.

We see the effects of this one-size-fits-all healthcare mentality across the board: Five years after a heart attack almost half of women die, compared with 36 percent of men. Women are more likely than men to be susceptible to certain diseases such as orthopedic injuries, autoimmune disorders such as lupus and even lung diseases like COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Yet many of these conditions go unrecognized or are diagnosed in late stages, after years of women suffering unnecessary pain and even shame due to providers brushing off their concerns. We won’t be able to move forward in the field of women’s health care until we focus on the real, crucial differences between women and men.

Women present with different symptoms, respond to treatments differently and may even be more vulnerable to certain drug side effects than men. The sleeping pill Ambien (zolpidem) is a perfect example. In 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cut the recommended dose of Ambien (zolpidem) in half for women after numerous instances of women exhibiting bizarre behavior like sleepwalking, sleep-eating and even sleep-driving. How is it that it took 20 years after the drug was first approved to figure out women were taking twice the necessary dose? Even after this happened, the FDA declined to review the recommended dosage of other drugs. If women metabolize Ambien differently, do we metabolize statins differently? Antidepressants? These are all crucial questions, and we don’t have the much-needed answers.