SIC 8031
OFFICES AND CLINICS OF DOCTORS OF OSTEOPATHY



This industry consists of offices and clinics of licensed doctors of osteopathic medicine (D.O.) and engaged in the practice of general or specialized osteopathic medicine and surgery. Establishments operating as clinics of osteopathic physicians are included in this industry. Like medical doctors, doctors of osteopathic medicine are complete physicians with at least four years of medical school training; however, they differ from medical doctors by focusing on structural derangement, especially that of the spinal cord, as the chief cause of disease.

NAICS Code(s)

621111 (Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists))

621112 (Offices of Physicians, Mental Health Specialists)

According to the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), in 1998 there were 44,000 doctors of osteopathy (DOs) in the United States, making up about 5.5 percent of all physicians in the United States. Of these doctors, nearly 60 percent practice in the primary care fields. Although DOs represent less than 6 percent of all physicians, they account for 15 percent of all physicians practicing in rural areas with populations of 2,500 or less. Their fields of specialty include surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry and neurology, and internal medicine.

This branch of medicine has grown considerably since 1970, when there were just over 14,300 DOs practicing in the United States. Ten years later, that number had jumped to 18,800, and by 1990, the number of osteopathic doctors practicing had climbed to 30,000, with only 2 percent of those DOs working in hospitals and another 2 percent teaching. By 1998, the total number of DOs had grown to 44,000 and is expected to top 45,000 by the turn of the twenty-first century. The AOA estimates that DOs receive some 100 million patient visits annually. The greatest demand in the future for DOs will be in rural and suburban areas. Employment is expected to grow faster than average, with the best prospects being in primary care fields such as family practice, geriatrics, and preventive care specialist.

While exact figures on the revenues in osteopathy as a whole are not available, doctors of osteopathic medicine in private or group practice earned annual salaries of roughly $85,000 to $150,000 in the late 1990s, depending on whether they were general practitioners or specialists. Beginning osteopathic physicians who practice in Veterans Hospitals earn an average of $47,500 a year.

There has been a sharp jump in the number of students pursuing studies in osteopathic medicine, according to the AOA: enrollment increased nearly 41 percent between 1990 and 1998. The National Center for Health Statistics projected that the 19 U.S. colleges of osteopathic medicine would graduate nearly 2,000 DOs in the year 2000. The 1980s and 1990s have also seen a sharp jump in the number of minority and female students enrolling in programs of osteopathic study. Between 1980 and 1996, minority students and female students in osteopathic programs increased 15 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

In 1996, there were more than 500 approved osteopathic sites, offering more than 3,800 residency programs. There were also more than 200 osteopathic health care systems in the United States, and that number was expected to grow.

In 1995, three out of four DOs practiced in twelve states, each state being one with osteopathic schools and hospitals. Michigan had the greatest number of DOs, followed by Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, New Jersey, and Texas.

Overseas, American doctors of osteopathic medicine have operated clinics and trained staff, but typically have not set up private practices for themselves, as salaries are not as high as those in the United States. The United States is the only country in the world that has osteopathic medicine integrated with a physician's degree. In other countries, practitioners generally earn certification after one to two years of schooling and hold less prestige than their American counterparts.

In 1998, about 60 percent of all DOs were involved in primary care, providing about 9 percent of all primary care available in the United States; primary care physicians, including both family and general practitioners, are the first to see a patient. More importantly for this branch of medicine, DOs' services account for 15 percent of primary care in rural areas, where primary care physicians have been in increasing demand since the 1980s, when more and more physicians (MDs and DOs) either went into specialized medicine or preferred to work in the cities. Given this expanding niche in the health care market, doctors of osteopathic medicine are expected to become more recognized and earn higher revenues in the future.

Further Reading

American Osteopathic Association. "National Facts and Future Trends." Available from http://www.aoa-net.org/government/relations/facts.htm

——. "Osteopathic Medicine." Available from http://www.am-osteo-assn.org/Consumers/omed.htm

——. "Unity Summit II." Available from http://www.aoanet.org/executive/unitycampaign/summit2.htm

Lidz, Richard and Linda Perrin, eds. "Osteopathic Physician." Career Information Center. 6th ed. Vol. 7. New York: Macmillan Library Reference, 1996.

"Osteopathic Health care System." American Osteopathic Health care Assn. Webpage. Available from http://www.aoha.org/ostins.htm .

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