Updated at 7:40 p.m. Sunday: Revised to include another statement from Dr. Gary Tigges.

A Plano physician is under fire for a hot take in the Dallas Medical Journal saying his female colleagues are paid less because they don't work as hard — but the doctor says his comments were misconstrued and that he did not know they would be made public.

The comments attributed to Gary Tigges, who practices internal medicine at Plano Internal Medicine Associates, were among eight responses published in the September edition of the Journal. The two-page feature addressed a report indicating that female doctors' salaries amounted to about two-thirds that of their male counterparts.

"Yes, there is a pay gap," Tigges wrote. "Female physicians do not work as hard and do not see as many patients as male physicians.

"This is because they choose to, or they simply don't want to be rushed, or they don't want to work the long hours. Most of the time, their priority is something else.... Family, social, whatever."

Tigges, 53, is one of three physicians, one of them a woman, at the Plano practice he founded in 1996. According to the office's website, the Iowa-born Tigges studied at the University of Iowa College of Medicine and started private practice at Presbyterian Hospital of Plano in 1995.

He has remained active in medical leadership at Presbyterian Plano, where he was elected staff president in 2006 and has chaired numerous committees, the website says.

Gary Tigges says his comments were taken out of context.

His comments were posted in this month's "Women in Medicine Issue" of the Dallas Medical Journal, published by the Dallas County Medical Society.

"We asked our physicians if they believe a pay gap exists between male and female physicians," the article's introduction said. "If so, what is the cause? What steps can physicians take as individuals and as a community to address this?"

Tigges' comments were among eight responses presented as "big and bright ideas" addressing the question.

"Nothing needs to be 'done' about this unless female physicians actually want to work harder and put in the hours," his comments continued. "If not, they should be paid less. That is fair."

Photos of his response quickly circulated on social media, drawing immediate backlash on Facebook, Twitter and Yelp.

"Thank you for publicly displaying your disgusting thoughts on the value of women physicians in the workplace," Dr. Hala Sabry-Elnaggar wrote in a Facebook post displaying a photo of the letter. "There is a pay gap because there is gender inequity and inequality which is wrong and cannot be justified in any way.

"Women physicians have been proven to put their skills into their work with better mortality outcomes and they continue to do this despite the discrimination more than 80 percent of them face at work," Sabry-Elnaggar continued. "So please educate yourself beyond your medical degree about what your colleagues are doing ... and how their presence is important to the health care team and to their patients."

Her post prompted dozens of angry replies.

"Hear that ladies?" one response read. "We're just lazy, therefore we shouldn't be paid as much. Make him famous. Opinions like his should be shared, so that women like me, know who NOT to go to."

"The only reason male doctors make more money is because they are more interested in seeing more patients and making more money than giving quality care, which takes time," read another. "Many women providers don't focus on how many people they can see and how much money they can make from those patients, but instead on providing quality holistic care."

Humor me and pretend @GaryTigges in this @DallasCMS publication is right. By his logic, according to the data if we paid based on actual clinical outcomes rather than fee-for-service volume churn, MEN would be the ones complaining about a pay gap --> https://t.co/Jzdkyq26by pic.twitter.com/EDerSI80hg — Dr. Zubin Damania (@ZDoggMD) September 1, 2018

Tigges said Saturday that he doesn't stand by the comments as they are printed and said he wrote them in response to an email from the Dallas County Medical Society, not knowing they would be used for publication.

His comments, he said, were based on data he'd read showing that female doctors often earn less because they see fewer patients or work fewer hours because of family or other obligations. He said he didn't mean to imply that women should earn less for equal work.

"My response sounds terrible and horrible and doesn't reflect what I was really trying to say," Tigges said. "I'm not saying female physicians should be paid less, but they earn less because of other factors."

Hey. Don’t shoot the messenger. Gender Gap - and perceptions about cause and it’s very existence - a big problem for medicine. Look at many other quotes in the story - like this one. Eh, @zdoggmd pic.twitter.com/WLZq7JAdAu — Texas Medical Assoc. (@texmed) September 1, 2018

Tigges said the economic reality is that doctors are paid by the number of patients seen.

"Women might take longer with their patients, and that's a great thing, but then their pay is less," he said. "That's something we have to deal with every day; you have to work out that balance. Every physician wrangles with that. But it was not my intention to say female physicians are lazy or don't work as hard."

In another statement on the Plano Internal Medicine Associates website, Tigges said he heard from "several trusted female physician colleagues who disagree with and are deeply hurt and offended" by his comments.

"I now understand more clearly how intricate this issue is and that there are ways we can work together to resolve these disparities," he said. "I have worked closely with numerous female physicians for nearly three decades and have witnessed nothing but compassion, diligence and professionalism.

In the note, Tigges apologized to "all female physicians" and to his partners and staff at Plano Internal Medicine.

A statement from Dr. Gary A. Tigges following backlash over his comments about female physicians and pay. (Plano Internal Medicine Associates website)

Michael Darrouzet, CEO of the 7,500-member medical society, said the questionnaire was the third sent to members as part of a new monthly journal feature. Tigges' comments, he said, were among many answers received in response.

"When we send out the notice," Darrouzet said, "we do say we will pick the best, the ones we want to publish. We do disclose that."

And while the journal itself has come under fire for choosing to print Tigges' comments at all, Gabriela Zandomeni, chair of the medical society's communications committee, said the committee had a choice to make upon receiving them.

"After considering the purpose of the series, we decided to publish it," Zandomeni said. "When I read this response, I was outraged, as many female physicians are today. However, I believe that to incite change, we must expose the issues that need changing."

News researcher Jen Graffunder and staff writer Claire Cardona contributed to this report.

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