MD or DO? It’s All the Same in the Hospital Room, Study Finds
An age-old debate quietly rumbles on in the hushed corridors of hospitals across the nation. Which qualification is best: MD (doctor of medicine) or DO (doctor of osteopathic medicine)? A recent study , monumental in its scope, dared to ask this question, delving into more than 300,000 Medicare hospital cases. The verdict was startling: When it comes to the quality and cost of care in a hospital setting, MDs and DOs provide the same value. Unveiling the Intricacies of the Study With support from the National Institute on Aging, a diverse team of researchers from various institutions rolled up their sleeves and joined hands. Their shared mission? To explore the potential ties between a doctor’s type of medical degree and how it might reflect the quality and cost of care they offer hospitalized patients. Adopting a retrospective observational design, the researchers ventured into the depths of Medicare fee-for-service data. The data were meticulously selected, focusing on a random 20 pe