Managed care and osteopathic medicine

[ez067274]

I am very interested in osteopathic medicine, but I have a concern: How has managed care affected the practice of osteopathic physicians, considering the philosophy behind OM is treating patients as whole persons and the use of OMT, among others? Doesn't that require spending a lot of time with patients?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Paul's Boutique]

Heaven forbid we spend too much time with patients! (ha ha!)

My family doc (who happens to be a DO) explained that he knows when certain patients want/need the extra time. Others just want to come in, get treated, and get out. He's got the flexibility, and the experience, to listen to them and treat them the way they want to be treated. His schedule balances out.

And, by the way, he utilizes OMT in his practice. The way he maximizes his efficiency is to have the nurse bring the patient into the OMT room, have them lie on a heated massage (rollers) table for ~10-15 minutes---he's treating other patients while the person is being "prepped". Then, he's able to come in and perform the OMT on a prepped patient; I've had it done, and he spent about 30-45 minutes with me...

Point is: I'm sure we can all find ways to spend the time we need with our Pt's. You just do the best you can with what you have...

 

[Nanook]

This is a worry of mine, as well. HMO philosophy doesn't seem to jive with Osteopathic philosophy. It's one thing to spend quality time with a patient when you have some control over your schedule (as the doctor above apparently has), but that may not be true with an HMO setup.
Also, I wonder how much managed care hiring practices favor MD's over DO's? I have seen some listings on the Internet that state "MD only" in their job descriptions. Is this to keep DO's from applying?

 

[DocHaas]

I am a practicing DO and in fact the HMO climate is rather friendly to our profession. When you learn about the tenets of osteopathy you will here about "treating the body as a whole" and etc.; what this translates into in modern medicine is "preventative medicine." This is in fact what the HMO's are all about. I have encountered no boundaries in the pursuit of my career from any HMO other than the day to day hassle it is dealing with those organizations (this applies to MD's as well).