Patients reported similar outcomes when treated by MDs and DOs, study found

The verdict is in: Patient outcomes and healthcare spending were almost identical between elderly hospitalized patients, regardless of whether physicians with a doctor of medicine (MD) or a doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) degree treated them, a new study found.

Both traditional, or allopathic, and osteopathic medical schools provide comparable health education and accreditation standards, leading to similar quality and cost of care, the study from UCLA researchers suggests. While DOs make up about 11% of physicians in the US, those medical professionals experience stigma because some assume they are “not considered real doctors” without an MD, KFF Health News reported.

“These findings offer reassurance to patients by demonstrating that they can expect high-quality care regardless of whether their physicians received their training from allopathic or osteopathic medical schools,” Yusuke Tsugawa, study author and associate professor of medicine at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, said in a statement.

The study analyzed more than 329,500 Medicare admissions, where 77% of patients were treated by an MD and 23% were treated by a DO. The patient mortality rate for MD physicians were 9.4%, compared to 9.5% for DO physicians; readmission rates were 15.7% and 15.6%, respectively; and the cost of care was respectively $1,004 versus $1,003, per the study. The length of hospital stay was 4.5 days for both groups.

What’s in a medical degree?

Allopathic and osteopathic medical schools have similar curriculum structures. Students spend 12–24 months of their program in the classroom and then continue training in clinical settings, according to the American Medical Association (AMA).

Osteopathic programs, however, have additional hands-on, holistic training in manipulating the musculoskeletal system, known as osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT). This uses stretching or gentle pressure to help relieve muscle pain or improve mobility.

The osteopathic philosophy of medicine emphasizes empathy and building trust with patients to improve quality of care, according to the American Osteopathic Association.

This holistic approach to healthcare means that DOs are “specifically trained to engage with and listen to their patients to look beyond symptoms to lifestyle factors that may impact a patient’s health or recovery,” according to the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM).

More students are starting to choose DOs over MDs: There were 35,177 students in the US pursuing DOs in the 2021–2022 school year, up from 20,663 students in 2011–2012, AACOM found.

The DO degree is becoming more popular amid an ongoing provider shortage. More than half of DOs go on to specialize in primary care, while only 28% of active physicians in the US with an MD are working in primary care specialties, the AMA found. Physicians with DOs are also more likely to practice in rural areas, where many hospitals are at risk of closing.