DO vs. MD: What Your Doctor’s Degree Actually Means

Most of us don’t give our doctor’s credentials much thought. They’re a doctor, after all. But there are actually two paths to become a licensed physician in the U.S.

A doctor of medicine — MD — is one way, of course. The other is by becoming a DO, or doctor of osteopathic medicine, a degree that may seem less familiar even though more than a quarter of today’s medical students are now studying osteopathic medicine, per the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine.

Unless you happen to see a degree hanging on the wall in your doctor’s office, most people likely wouldn’t be able to distinguish the two. Their differences have more to do with a philosophical approach to practicing medicine than any actual qualification, says Dr. Thalia Lake, a family medicine physician at Houston Methodist — and a DO.

We spoke with Dr. Lake to help clarify how the two degrees compare and the differences, if any, you may notice as a patient.

What are the main differences between DOs and MDs?

In reality, the similarities between MDs and DOs far outweigh their differences, according to Dr. Lake. Both complete four years of medical school, train in residency programs and take the board‑certification exams required to practice medicine in every state.

“We do the same trainings as MDs,” says Dr. Lake, noting that her residency included both MDs and DOs working side by side.

From a patient’s perspective, an MD and a DO function virtually the same, she says. Both are fully licensed physicians with the same scope of practice, meaning they can:

• Prescribe medications, including controlled substances

• Order and interpret diagnostic tests such as X‑rays, MRIs, CT scans, blood work and ultrasounds

• Diagnose medical conditions and perform physical exams

• Develop and manage treatment plans for everything from acute infections to chronic diseases

• Perform medical procedures within their specialty training

• Practice in any specialty — primary care, surgery, cardiology, emergency medicine, neurology, you name it

• Admit patients to hospitals and oversee inpatient care

• Use evidence‑based guidelines and complete the same continuing medical education

• Hold the same board‑certification pathways, with DOs taking the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination licensing exam and, in many cases, the USMLE (the MD exam)

One notable difference in osteopathic training is its emphasis on the musculoskeletal system and hands‑on treatment. Most DOs receive additional training in osteopathic manipulative therapy (OMT), a set of techniques used to diagnose and treat a wide range of issues — everything from muscle tension, back pain and joint issues to tension headaches, sinus congestion and acute swelling (edema).

“If patients come in reporting low back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, muscle spasms — things like that — we often use this type of therapy to treat it,” she says.

OMT often begins with palpation, allowing physicians to feel for tightness, restricted movement or other signs of dysfunction.

“Touch is really important to help diagnose,” Dr. Lake adds.

From there, DOs may use gentle stretching or pressure to ease muscle tension, or techniques like muscle energy that involve patients contracting specific muscles against resistance applied by the doctor. In some cases, they may also use a quick, precise thrust — known as high‑velocity, low‑amplitude (HVLA) — to help a joint move more freely. Other approaches, such as counterstrain, myofascial release or lymphatic techniques, can help also with issues like headaches or swelling.

This additional training, however, doesn’t change a DO’s scope of practice. DOs are not what some people think of as “bone doctors” — that’s an orthopedic surgeon — though DOs can and do specialize in orthopedics. And they aren't chiropractors; chiropractic is a form of complementary and alternative medicine and is not the equivalent of a medical doctorate.

OMT is simply one tool within their broader medical education, rooted in a perspective that sees the body’s systems as interconnected.

How osteopathic medicine approaches patient care

Osteopathic medicine is shaped by a set of principles that guide how DOs think about care. Dr. Lake explains that one of the core tenets of osteopathy is to view the body as an integrated unit made up of body, mind and spirit working in tandem rather than separate systems that operate independently.

“We treat the whole patient, not just the symptoms they present with,” she says. “We take factors like socioeconomic status and mental health into account when developing a patient’s treatment plan.”

While many physicians today take a whole-person approach, this framework is more directly built into osteopathic training. DOs learn these principles from the start, Dr. Lake explains, and they influence how they think about prevention, too.

Instead of focusing solely on treating diseases as they appear, osteopathic medicine encourages physicians to look for ways to support long-term health and help patients avoid certain conditions when possible. It’s an emphasis that aligns closely with how modern primary care is practiced, but for DOs, it’s woven into their foundational tenets.

Another tenet centers on the body’s ability to self-heal, self-regulate and maintain health. As Dr. Lake notes, if you get a cold, your immune system usually handles it on its own. Osteopathic physicians tend to choose medications and treatments that work with the body’s existing efforts to recover, she says.

A related principle focuses on the connection between structure and function. When something isn’t moving or aligning the way it should — tight muscles, limited joint motion, a misalignment — it can influence how well the body functions, she says. A DO’s training in the musculoskeletal system may help doctors identify these patterns and understand how they might contribute to a patient’s symptoms.

These ideas shape how DOs approach treatment. Osteopathic medicine encourages physicians to understand the context of a patient’s life and health, not just the condition they come in with.

Are there any notable differences when it comes to patient care?

For all the philosophical differences in how MDs and DOs are trained, research hasn’t found any meaningful differences in how their patients fare.

A large analysis published in JAMA Surgery reviewed more than 2.3 million surgeries involving Medicare patients between 2016 and 2019 and found no statistically significant differences in 30-day mortality, readmissions or length of stay between operations performed by MD or DO surgeons.

Similar findings have been reported outside of surgical care. A study in Annals of Internal Medicine compared outcomes for more than 329,000 hospitalized Medicare patients treated by MD and DO hospitalists. Mortality, readmission rates, length of stay and Medicare spending were nearly identical between the two groups.

When Dr. Lake considers what patients experience in an exam room, these findings track with her own practice. Both MDs and DOs rely on evidence-based medicine, order the same diagnostic tests and prescribe the same treatments.

What stands out to her has less to do with the degree and more to do with how physicians communicate and involve patients in decision-making.

“Patients should feel like they’re at the center of the treatment plan,” Dr. Lake says.

She talks through options with her patients and checks in to make sure they’re comfortable with the next steps — an approach she considers essential regardless of whether a doctor holds an MD or a DO degree.

(Related: 4 Reasons You Need a Primary Care Provider)