PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS-STATUS OF OSTEOPATHS-LIMITATIONS ON PRACTICE

Until recently, the osteopath has generally been given a limited license. The present status of the osteopath is best understood by a comparison with that of the unlimited practitioner. Though most of the statutes have been examined, this comment is based primarily upon those of Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, California, Massachusetts and Indiana, which are fairly typical of the rest. These statutes vary widely in their provisions, but for the purposes of discussion, they have been treated in three arbitrary categories: (1) statutes in which the scope of the osteopath's license is considerably narrower than that of the unlimited practitioner; (2) those in which it is somewhat similar to that of the unlimited practitioner; and, (3) those in which it is almost identical with that of the unlimited practitioner.