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This article is from 2003, but I thought you might find it interesting, given the ammount of argument we hear on this site about DOs being more patient-oriented than MDs. Although this article basically recounts a JAOA article, it is interesting that it is from the AMA's website and is intended for a primarily MD audience.
Here is the original link: http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2003/08/25/prsb0825.htm
Small study compares styles: Osteopathic physicians talk more about feelings
Researchers said MDs and DOs can learn from this research about interactions with patients.
By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. Aug. 25, 2003.
Osteopathic physicians are more personable with their patients than are allopathic doctors.
A study in the July Journal of the American Osteopathic Association found that DOs tend to incorporate issues relating to patients' family and social activities, and are more likely to discuss patient emotions during office visits.
"We're not saying the osteopathic physicians are better at interviewing [patients] than the MDs. What we're saying is they're different," said Tim Carey, MD, MPH, director of the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Researchers audiotaped 54 patient visits with 11 osteopathic and seven allopathic primary care physicians in Maine. They used a 26-item index to analyze the visits, exploring matters such as whether doctors discussed patients' emotional states, or asked patients about their families and other topics unrelated to health.
Osteopathic physicians were more likely to use patient's first names and to discuss the social, family and emotional impact of illnesses, according to the study, "Do Osteopathic Physicians Differ in Patient Interaction from Allopathic Physicians? An Empirically Derived Approach."
For example, 66% of DOs discussed a patient's emotional state compared with about one-third of MDs. A higher percentage of DOs (38%) than MDs (14%) asked, "Do you have any questions?"
Allopathic physicians scored higher in discussing literature or scientific basis of treatment.
The study was funded primarily by the American Osteopathic Assn. However, Dr. Carey said the funding source did not influence the findings.
"We showed the data as we found it," he said.
Kevin Soden, MD, MPH, understands why DOs may seem to have a more personal style.
"They're really taught a lot more to touch patients," said Dr. Soden, of Charlotte, N.C., a former emergency physician and author of The Art of Medicine: What Every Doctor and Patient Should Know.
Joel Cooperman, DO, an osteopathic manipulative specialist in Denver, said doctors need to have a mix of medical expertise and personal skills.
"Any good physician is going to care about someone who is sick," he said. "But there does seem to be this subtlety that the DOs try to get to know more about the patient, not just the thing they're complaining about."
Researchers said the study is limited because it used only Maine physicians and that more research is needed on physician-patient interaction.
"It should be done with an eye not on who does it best, but how can everybody do it better," Dr. Carey said.
Here is the original link: http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2003/08/25/prsb0825.htm
Small study compares styles: Osteopathic physicians talk more about feelings
Researchers said MDs and DOs can learn from this research about interactions with patients.
By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. Aug. 25, 2003.
Osteopathic physicians are more personable with their patients than are allopathic doctors.
A study in the July Journal of the American Osteopathic Association found that DOs tend to incorporate issues relating to patients' family and social activities, and are more likely to discuss patient emotions during office visits.
"We're not saying the osteopathic physicians are better at interviewing [patients] than the MDs. What we're saying is they're different," said Tim Carey, MD, MPH, director of the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Researchers audiotaped 54 patient visits with 11 osteopathic and seven allopathic primary care physicians in Maine. They used a 26-item index to analyze the visits, exploring matters such as whether doctors discussed patients' emotional states, or asked patients about their families and other topics unrelated to health.
Osteopathic physicians were more likely to use patient's first names and to discuss the social, family and emotional impact of illnesses, according to the study, "Do Osteopathic Physicians Differ in Patient Interaction from Allopathic Physicians? An Empirically Derived Approach."
For example, 66% of DOs discussed a patient's emotional state compared with about one-third of MDs. A higher percentage of DOs (38%) than MDs (14%) asked, "Do you have any questions?"
Allopathic physicians scored higher in discussing literature or scientific basis of treatment.
The study was funded primarily by the American Osteopathic Assn. However, Dr. Carey said the funding source did not influence the findings.
"We showed the data as we found it," he said.
Kevin Soden, MD, MPH, understands why DOs may seem to have a more personal style.
"They're really taught a lot more to touch patients," said Dr. Soden, of Charlotte, N.C., a former emergency physician and author of The Art of Medicine: What Every Doctor and Patient Should Know.
Joel Cooperman, DO, an osteopathic manipulative specialist in Denver, said doctors need to have a mix of medical expertise and personal skills.
"Any good physician is going to care about someone who is sick," he said. "But there does seem to be this subtlety that the DOs try to get to know more about the patient, not just the thing they're complaining about."
Researchers said the study is limited because it used only Maine physicians and that more research is needed on physician-patient interaction.
"It should be done with an eye not on who does it best, but how can everybody do it better," Dr. Carey said.
