DO vs. MD: What's the Difference?

Nguon: webmd.com

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributor

Medically Reviewed by Jabeen Begum, MD on July 18, 2024

6 min read

When you say that you're going to see a doctor, you may be referring to two types of medical professionals: MDs and DOs. Each title refers to the type of degree and licensing the doctor has. Both MDs and DOs have similar training and duties, but they differ in a few key areas.

MDs and DOs are two types of medical professionals. These titles refer to the type of degree and licensing the doctor has. Both MDs and DOs have similar training and duties, but they differ in a few key areas including their approach to care. (Photo Credit: DigitalVision/Getty Images)

What Is an MD?

MD stands for doctor of medicine. MDs are allopathic doctors. That means they treat and diagnose conditions using conventional medical tools like X-rays, prescription drugs, and surgery. Allopathic medicine is also called conventional or mainstream medicine.

MDs can choose to be broad practitioners and work as family medicine or primary care doctors. They can also specialize in many areas, which requires further education, including:

• Surgery
• Specific body parts or organs
• Psychiatry
• Geriatric medicine
• Pediatrics

What Is a DO?

DO stands for doctor of osteopathic medicine. They use the same conventional medical techniques as MDs but with a few other methods. DOs tend to focus more on holistic health and prevention. In holistic health, all parts of a person, including their mind, body, and emotions, are considered during the treatment. They also use a system of physical manipulations and adjustments to diagnose and treat people.

More than half of DOs work in primary care, but they can also specialize in another area, just like MDs.

DOs have all the same responsibilities and rights as MDs, including the abilities to perform surgery with proper training and prescribe medicine.

DO and MD Similarities

MDs and DOs follow similar educational routes. They must first earn a 4-year undergraduate degree, and most will take pre-medicine courses during this time. After getting an undergraduate degree, they will attend either medical school or a college of osteopathic medicine.

After finishing 4 years of medical education, MDs and DOs must complete an internship and a residency. A residency is on-the-job training under the supervision of more experienced doctors. Some MDs and DOs will also go on to do fellowships to learn more about a specialty. 

MDs and DOs often train side by side in residencies and internships, despite going to different types of schools.‌

Both MDs and DOs must also take a licensing exam in order to practice medicine professionally. The type of licensing exam taken depends on the state that the MD or DO resides in.

MDs and DOs provide similar quality of care. One study examined the health outcomes of over 300,000 hospitalized Medicare patients, some of whom were treated by an MD and some of whom were treated by a DO. The study showed that patients treated by MDs vs. DOs had nearly identical lengths of stay, readmission rates, death rates, and costs.

Differences Between DO and MD

There are a lot more MDs than DOs in the United States. Almost 9 in 10 doctors who went to a U.S. medical school have an MD degree. One study found that around 19% of doctor's visits were to DOs, and 81% were to MDs.

Both allopathic medical schools and colleges of osteopathic medicine are competitive to get into. However, students attending colleges of osteopathic medicine have slightly lower average GPAs and MCAT scores compared to students attending medical schools. ‌

These lower GPAs and MCAT scores do not necessarily reflect the quality of students in DO programs. There are fewer students in colleges of osteopathic medicine compared to allopathic medical schools. Only a quarter of medical students in the U.S. attend a college of osteopathic medicine. But interest in the DO degree is rising: between 2011-2012 and 2021-2022, enrollment in DO programs increased by 68%.

DOs also learn about how the bones, nerves, and muscles work together and influence people’s health. They spend extra time (usually about 200 hours) studying osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM). This is also called osteopathic manipulative technique (OMT). OMT focuses on methods used to relieve back pain, neck pain, strained muscles, and other conditions. 

DO vs. MD Approaches to Medicine

MDs and DOs have slightly different approaches to medicine.

MDs focus on looking at your symptoms and making a diagnosis based on those symptoms. They tend to take a more targeted approach to treatment.‌

DOs, on the other hand, see the body as an integrated whole and treat health issues accordingly. This is called a holistic approach, and it is the foundation of osteopathic medicine. Because of this holistic view, they usually focus more on prevention. They may also make more lifestyle recommendations compared witho MDs.

Some MDs may also take a holistic approach to medicine, but not all of them will.

DO vs MD: Which Doctor to Choose

Both DOs and MDs are good doctors with professional training. A lot of their training is very similar, and both types of doctor use technology like X-rays and prescriptions. If you went to an MD and a DO, you probably wouldn’t notice a lot of differences. In fact, you might not be able to tell the difference at all. 

If you’re choosing between seeing an MD vs. DO, here are some things to think about:

• Approach. MDs tend to focus on diagnosing and treating one part of the body. DOs tend to think about how different parts of the body work together. For example, they might think about how skeletal conditions could affect your muscles.
• Location. Some areas have more MDs, and some have more DOs. For example, about 19% of doctors in New Jersey with a U.S. medical degree are DOs, compared with 7% in Alabama. See who practices in your area.
• Specialty. DOs tend to work in certain specialties, like family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics. About 3 in 5 DOs work in these fields. About 22% of family medicine doctors with a U.S. medical school degree are DOs.
• Health conditions. DOs are trained in osteopathic manipulative medicine, a technique where they use their hands to apply gentle pressure on or stretch certain body parts. This can be used to diagnose and treat musculoskeletal pain and conditions like asthma, constipation, headaches, repetitive stress injuries, and sinus infections.
• Patient satisfaction. One survey showed that people who had seen osteopathic doctors were more satisfied with their treatment than those who had been to allopathic doctors, chiropractors, and other types of health care providers. When you look up a doctor online, you might be able to find previous patient ratings.

Differences Between DOs and Chiropractors

While the OMM techniques performed by DOs seem similar to those used by chiropractors, the two fields are different. Unlike DOs, chiropractors cannot practice medicine. Chiropractors focus more on the musculoskeletal system and spinal alignment. DOs can practice medicine like an MD, and they focus on holistic and preventative medicine.

Takeaways

Both MDs and DOs are well-trained doctors that can give you the care you need. They have similar training, although DOs spend extra time studying how the bones, nerves, and muscles work together. Because of this, DOs tend to approach medicine from a more holistic perspective, which means they think about how all your organs work together. Neither type of doctor is better than the other, so you can pick the approach you feel most comfortable with.

DO vs. MD FAQs

Can MDs perform surgery? Both MDs and DOs can specialize in surgery. About 94% of surgeons with a U.S. medical degree have an MD.

What does DO stand for in medicine? DO stands for doctor of osteopathic medicine.

Do surgeons earn more than physicians? It depends on the specialty. In 2023, orthopedic surgeons made an average salary of $378,250. Meanwhile, cardiologists made $449,320 and pediatricians made $205,860.

What are osteopathic medicine examples? Osteopathic medicine is a holistic or broad view of health that considers how different organ systems work together. Doctors of osteopathic medicine, or DOs, can specialize in any area of medicine, but most choose to work in family care, internal medicine, or pediatrics.