Osteopathic medicine: a call for reform.

During the past 40 years, the osteopathic medical profession has undergone a transformation from "osteopathy" to "osteopathic medicine." The former was characterized by manipulative treatment; the latter, by full-service healthcare. During this transformation, the profession has won acceptance from the government, the military, and MDs. These changes in status have resulted in new problems for the profession because DO graduates are increasingly turning toward allopathic programs for residency training. Thus, osteopathic medicine's primary care orientation is being replaced by an emphasis on specialty training. The authors propose that osteopathic medicine return to its original mission of primary care, abandon or restrict specialty training to those who have completed primary care residencies, and rethink its separate-but-equal posture. They also propose that osteopathic medicine establish lines of communication with allopathic medicine, the American Medical Association, and the government to facilitate the development of a rational national policy for primary care that considers the potential osteopathic medicine has to offer in meeting the nation's primary care needs.