Jgar26,
I'm just curious what about the osteopathic philosophy turns you off? The whole person approach to care? The emphasis on primary care medicine? Or, the added skills and training in musculoskeletal medicine and manipulation. It's unclear to me why you would consider any of these things a minus. Also, the statistic on OMM use always gets misinterpreted: It's not that 90% of DO's do not use manipulation at all, it's that 90% of DO's do not use OMM on all patients. However, plenty of DO's use manipulation on selected patients. It's just another modality. Not all physicians use all the tools in their bags. When do you think was the last time a radiologist did a pelvic exam?
Conditions and diagnoses for which osteopathic primary care physicians and specialists use osteopathic manipulative treatment.
Johnson SM, Kurtz ME.
Department of Family and Community Medicine at the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine in East Lansing, USA.
Data presented in this study were gathered in 1998 through a national mail survey of 3000 randomly selected osteopathic physicians. Of 979 (33.4%) questionnaires returned, 955 (97.5%) were usable for analysis. The use of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) was determined for primary care physicians and specialists. Osteopathic manipulative treatment specialists and family physicians provided OMT significantly more frequently than other primary care physicians and non-primary care specialists. More than 50% of respondents (513) administered OMT on less than 5% of their patients. Nevertheless, it should be noted that physicians from 40 of 46 specialties and subspecialties represented in the survey (678, 71%) identified an average of 3.3 conditions and diagnoses per physician that were managed with OMT. The conditions and diagnoses for which OMT is used have been enumerated and codified. More than 50% of conditions (1135) for which respondents treated patients with OMT related to the musculoskeletal system, but extensive overlap among other body systems and body regions attests to the continued incorporation of OMT into holistic patient care by a broad range of osteopathic physicians.
Evaluation of osteopathic manipulative treatment training by practicing physicians in Ohio.
Spaeth DG, Pheley AM.
Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Department of Family Practice, Athens 45701, USA.
[email protected]
The authors mailed a survey designed to evaluate beliefs about osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) training to the 2318 osteopathic physicians registered with the Ohio Osteopathic Association. Responses were received from 871 osteopathic physicians (response rate, 38%). Fifty-three percent of the respondents had used OMT with patients at least once during the week before the survey. With regard to OMT training, 60% rated their experience during medical school as acceptable; during postgraduate training the acceptable rating dropped to 9%. Osteopathic manipulative treatment training through continuing medical education programs was rated as acceptable by 26% who had participated in these programs. Forty percent of the respondents reported that they were practicing less OMT now than when they originally entered practice, while 20% reported using OMT procedures more often. No significant correlation was observed between OMT training satisfaction during medical school and current use of OMT. However, a strong negative correlation was observed between satisfaction with postgraduate OMT training and OMT use. This survey did not detect any association between year of graduation and use of OMT.
Perceptions of philosophic and practice differences between US osteopathic physicians and their allopathic counterparts.
Johnson SM, Kurtz ME.
Department of Family and Community Medicine, Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1316, USA.
[email protected]
Data were gathered through a random national mail survey of 3000 US osteopathic physicians. Nine hundred and fifty-five questionnaires were usable for analysis. Through open-ended questions, osteopathic physicians identified philosophic and practice differences that distinguished them from their allopathic counterparts, and whether they believed the use of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT), a key identifiable feature of the osteopathic profession, was appropriate in their specialty. Seventy-five percent of the respondents to the question regarding philosophic differences answered positively, and 41 percent of the follow-up responses indicated that holistic medicine was the most distinguishing characteristic of their profession. In response to the question on practice differences, 59 percent of the respondents believed they practiced differently from allopathic physicians, and 72 percent of the follow-up responses indicated that the osteopathic approach to treatment was a primary distinguishing feature, mainly incorporating the application of OMT, a caring doctor-patient relationship, and a hands-on style. More respondents who specialized in osteopathic manipulative medicine and family practice perceived differences between them and their allopathic counterparts than did other practitioners. Almost all respondents believed OMT was an efficacious treatment, but 19 percent of all respondents felt use of OMT was inappropriate in their specialty. Thirty-one percent of the pediatricians and 38 percent of the non-primary care specialists shared this view. Eighty-eight percent of the respondents had a self-identification as osteopathic physicians, but less than half felt their patients identified them as such. When responses are considered in the context of all survey respondents (versus only those who provided open-ended responses) not a single philosophic concept or resultant practice behavior had concurrence from more than a third of the respondents as distinguishing osteopathic from allopathic medicine. Rank and file osteopathic practitioners seem to be struggling for a legitimate professional identification. The outcome of this struggle is bound to have an impact on health care delivery in the US.
Characteristics, satisfaction, and perceptions of patients receiving ambulatory healthcare from osteopathic physicians: a comparative national survey.
Licciardone JC, Herron KM.
Department of Family Medicine, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA.
[email protected]
A national telephone survey was conducted in 1998 using random-digit dialing and the first Osteopathic Survey of Healthcare in America (OSTEOSURV-I) instrument to determine patients' satisfaction with their healthcare, as well as their perceptions of osteopathic medicine. Of the 1106 respondents, 243 (22.0%) had received medical care from an osteopathic physician, and another 307 (27.8%) claimed to be aware of osteopathic physicians. Patients of osteopathic physicians reported the highest levels of satisfaction in 8 of the 11 elements studied when compared with patients of allopathic physicians, chiropractors, and nonphysician clinicians other than chiropractors. Respondents perceived osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) to be beneficial for musculoskeletal disorders (P < .001). In addition, respondents perceived that healthcare services provided by osteopathic physicians were similar to those provided by allopathic physicians (P < .001), but not to those provided by chiropractors (P = .01). A total of 97.9% of current patients of osteopathic physicians agreed with the statement that osteopathic physicians practiced in their local community, compared with 80.6% of former patients of osteopathic physicians and 67.8% of patients who had never visited osteopathic physicians (P < .001). In general, the most favorable perceptions of osteopathic medicine were reported by current patients of osteopathic physicians, followed by former patients of such physicians. The least favorable perceptions came from patients who had never been patients of osteopathic physicians. The perception that OMT should be covered by health insurance was significantly associated with the use of osteopathic physicians (odds ratio, 3.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.5 to 6.7, among patients who had ever been to an osteopathic physician). The results of our survey suggest that greater access to osteopathic services, including OMT, is desirable and that promotional efforts aimed at encouraging the use of osteopathic medical services among the general population are warranted.
Originally posted by jgar26
Be aware that 99.9% of DO grads will NEVER practice that. In my residency, every DO I know doesnt pracitce it.
If you go, please go willingly and with an open mind.
