Help Close Gaps in Osteopathic Research – Join Us at Advocacy Day 2024!

Published September 03, 2024

By °×С½ãÈýФÈýÂë±ØÖÐÒ»ÆÚ Government Relations

Federal Policy GME Healthcare Workforce OME Advocate Rural Medicine

 and  published articles highlighting the challenges osteopathic medicine faces in obtaining federal recognition and funding. °×С½ãÈýФÈýÂë±ØÖÐÒ»ÆÚ shared with reporters concerns about the underrepresentation of osteopathic physicians on federal advisory committees that influence research funding and healthcare policy.

Osteopathic medicine's inability to play a role in federal funding policy and application review has a direct impact on funding outcomes. In an analysis shared with Becker's, °×С½ãÈýФÈýÂë±ØÖÐÒ»ÆÚ reported that osteopathic medical schools only get 0.1 percent ($55.6 million) of all active National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant funding. In contrast, allopathic medical schools receive 42 percent of funding, or $23.8 billion of the NIH's $56.7 billion research budget. This disparity goes beyond NIH, as only 17 DOs sit on federal health-related advisory committees.

Join the movement to increase osteopathic research funding and representation by registering for °×С½ãÈýФÈýÂë±ØÖÐÒ»ÆÚ Advocacy Day, a two-day virtual event on September 11-12, 2024. All members of the OME community are encouraged to register so you can learn about and advocate for osteopathic policy priorities, including more NIH funding and representation.