Imagine you are working for a primary care provider whose credentials are a doctor of osteopathic medicine (do) instead of a medical doctor (md). a new patient presents to the office, notices the difference on a business card, and asks you what the difference is.

Standing for Medical Doctor or Doctor of Medicine. MD’s practice a form of medicine called allopathic. James Whorton, the man credited with coining the phrase, explained that Doctors of Medicine (M.D.’s) use treatments that affect someone who’s ill differently than someone who’s healthy. Allopathic is the classical form of medicine, focused on the diagnosis and treatment of human diseases.

Osteopathic Doctor/DO’s receive their medical degree from a U.S. osteopathic school. Unlike MD’s, a DO is accredited by the American Osteopathic Associate Commission within the Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA). D.O.’s are trained to have a more holistic approach to medicine and follow a medical philosophy called osteopathic medicine. DO’s are trained to consider a patient’s environment, nutrition, and body system as a whole when diagnosing and treating medical conditions, rather than just treating the symptoms alone.