What might be the patient’s concerns upon discovering the differences between a md and a do

The simple answer is that both an MD (Doctor of Medicine) and a DO (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine) are doctors licensed to practice in the United States. They are similarly educated and certified, but there are differences in their training and philosophy of patient care.

Nine out of 10 practicing doctors in this country are MDs or allopathic physicians, according to the latest data published by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) in 2012. As the FSMB points out in its Census of Actively Licensed Physicians, however, “the osteopathic medical profession continues to experience exponential growth in its numbers.”