Preventive, whole-person care has been the hallmark of osteopathic medicine since its formal beginning in 1892. Osteopathic physicians, or D.O.s, seek not only to cure physical ailments, but also encourage healthy living to prevent disease and illness. 

Sixty-four percent of all D.O.s practice primary care. And while D.O.s account for just 6 percent of the nation's physicians, they account for 18 percent of all family physicians and 15 percent of all physicians practicing in communities of 10,000 or fewer.