Call to unify MD and DO medical education pathways

Physicians Abigail MacKenzie and Vijay Rajput argue that keeping medical education split between allopathic (MD) and osteopathic (DO) tracks is an outdated practice that adds no value to patient care.

They point to research published in JAMA Surgery and the Annals of Internal Medicine showing no significant differences in mortality, readmissions, or length of stay between patients treated by MD‑trained versus DO‑trained surgeons and hospitalists.

The authors call for a single accreditation system and licensing pathway, saying that a unified training pipeline would reflect the reality that doctors, regardless of their degree, perform the same clinical duties and hold the same state licenses.