Comparison of practice patterns and geographic distribution of osteopathic and allopathic dermatologists

Abstract

To the Editor: During the past decade, osteopathic physicians (doctors of osteopathic medicine [DOs]) have played an increasing role in patient care. In dermatology, the proportion of DOs increased from 4.0% in 2008 to 5.7% in 2017.1 We sought to compare practice patterns of DO and allopathic (doctor of medicine [MD]) dermatologists. This is important because DO physicians have been shown to alleviate health care shortages in other specialties and because major allopathic and osteopathic dermatologic institutions have shared goals of providing accessible dermatologic care.