Welcome to Mesa Family Medical Center

Mesa Family Medical Center, P.C. is a full service family practice. We treat patients of all ages, with a full spectrum of medical problems. High quality health care with an emphasis on preventative medicine and wellness is provided.

What is the difference between a D.O. and a M.D.?

D.O.’s and M.D.’s are alike in that they both utilize all scientifically accepted methods of diagnosis and treatment, including the use of drugs and surgery. Educational requirements are the same, and in most instances, D.O.’s and M.D.’s are examined by the same state licensing board.

The M.D. has a “doctor of medicine” degree and the D.O. has a “doctor of osteopathic medicine” degree.

So what’s the difference?

The difference is that the osteopathic physician receives additional training in what the osteopathic profession believes to be a most significant factor in comprehensive health care.

The D.O. recognizes that the musculoskeletal system (the muscle, bones, and joints) is interdependent, and a disturbance in one causes altered function in other systems of the body. D.O.’s use structural diagnosis and manipulative therapy of the musculoskeletal system, along with all of the other more traditional forms of diagnosis and treatment, i.e., drugs and surgery, to care effectively for patients and to relieve the distress.

The D.O. is not something else, but something more.