ATHENS, Ohio -- On Thursday, April 18, osteopathic physicians (D.O.s) across the country will celebrate the contributions that they have made to the American health care system. For more than a century now, D.O.s have been making a difference in health care. They have treated presidents and Olympic athletes. They have contributed to the fight against AIDS and the fight for civil rights. And today they serve as the U.S. assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, the U.S. Coast Guard's chief medical officer, team physician for the Ohio University Bobcats and Athens County Coroner and certified Immigration & Naturalization Alien Examiner.
"We are celebrating National D.O. Day here in Athens at our medical center because it provides an excellent opportunity to educate our patients and the general public about the special expertise of osteopathic physicians and patients' overall health care options," explains Daniel Marazon, D.O., Medical Director at the University Osteopathic Medical Center. "In the current dynamic health care arena, people need to be knowledgeable about the type of health care provider that they are choosing. We feel that it's important to let the local community know that they have doctors right here in their community committed to helping them prevent, not just manage illness."
Nationally, D.O.s comprise 15 percent of the total physician population in towns of 10,000 or less. And each year more than 100 million patient visits are made to D.O.s, helping them to become one of the fastest growing segments of health care providers.
The statistics here at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-COM) are similar. After June 2002, approximately 1,950 doctors of osteopathic medicine will have graduated from OU-COM. Of these past graduates, 65 percent are practicing in Ohio, 55 percent have chosen a primary care practice and 17 percent are practicing in communities with populations of less than 10,000 (38 percent practice in communities of less than 50,000).
There are currently 19 osteopathic medical schools in the U.S. Not only do they emphasize training students to be primary care specialists, but they also focus on prevention and wellness. D.O.s believe in educating their patients about good health and avoiding illness.
"Having D.O.s as a healthcare option is important because they provide Americans with a whole person approach to health care," says Dr. Marazon. "We don't just focus on patients' specific injury or illness. We take into account home and work environments as well as their patients' lifestyles when assessing their overall health."
This distinct approach has D.O.s treating patients as people, not just an injury or illness, helping to give Americans the quality of care that they deserve. As Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, the founder of osteopathic medicine, once said, "To find health should be the object of the doctor. Anyone can find disease."
D.O.s also have added training in Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT), a hands-on treatment tool that osteopathic physicians utilize to diagnose and treat injuries and illnesses. It can be used in conjunction with and sometimes even in place of medication or surgery to restore mobility and function.
Activities for D.O. Day in Athens will include recognition of the D.O.s treating patients in our community, special messages on local radio stations and a newspaper advertisement. On the national scene, D.O. Day will be observed with a large contingent of osteopathic physicians and medical students as they climb the steps of Capitol Hill to visit with members of Congress to discuss the Patient Bill of Rights. These D.O.s will be urging Congress to include several needed patient protections to secure a meaningful Patient Bill of Rights to help ensure quality care for their patients' back home.
