Representing more than 78,000 osteopathic physicians (DOs) around the world, the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) serves as the professional family for all DOs and osteopathic medical students. In addition to serving as the primary certifying body for DOs, the AOA is the accrediting agency for all osteopathic medical schools and has federal authority to accredit hospitals and other health care facilities.
Continually striving to be the premier home for the osteopathic medical community, the AOA stands for the following universal principles:
Enhancing the value of AOA membership
Protecting and promoting the rights of all osteopathic physicians
Accentuating the distinctiveness of osteopathic principles and the diversity of the profession
Supporting DOs' efforts to provide quality, cost-effective care to all Americans
Collaborating with others to advance the practice of osteopathic medicine
The AOA stands firmly behind osteopathic physicians’ ethical and professional responsibilities to patients and the medical profession. We offer an in-depth look at our ethical standards in our official Code of Ethics. Our policies and positions also outline the AOA’s stance on major health issues affecting all areas of society.