The American Medical Association (AMA) had officially branded DOs as “cultists” in the 1920s, and the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Hospitals specifically barred osteopathic physicians and surgeons from having staff privileges at member institutions.
9 Furthermore, in 1923 the AMA had declared it dishonorable for MDs to consult with DOs.
13 The policy became official in 1938 when the AMA forbade professional relationships between MDs and DOs.
13 This policy led to the creation of patient clinics and separate osteopathic hospitals around the country. The postwar era marked the birth of federal financial support for osteopathic physicians and teaching centers as well. In 1951, the US Public Health Service awarded all 5 of the current DO schools renewable teaching grants previously designated for MD schools. Another federal program, The Hill-Burton Act (1946), allotted funds to osteopathic medical schools to aid in hospital construction.
9 By the end of 1945, there were approximately 260 osteopathic hospitals around the country, 3 times the amount a decade earlier.
9 More federal support was soon to follow. The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare supported the Health Professional Education Act (1963), which improved osteopathic medical schools and granted loans to osteopathic students, and the Health Manpower Training Act (1968) and Comprehensive Health Manpower Training Act (1971) continued to authorize special project money and improve student loans.
9(p148)
The higher standards that were set forth because of World War II resulted in progress on the legal front. During the war, 9 new osteopathic specialty boards were established and 38 states had made DOs eligible for unlimited licensure. In a devastating blow to the anti-osteopathic arguments of MDs, a comprehensive review published by
JAMA found that by 1970, no statistically significant difference existed between DOs and US-trained MDs in terms of licensure examinations.
16