The power of osteopathy has always been best illustrated by the success individual patients report from receiving manipulative care. The ability to touch, identify real problems that may or may not be perceived by the patient, and to provide relief from or cure of those problems has allowed osteopathy to flourish throughout the 20th century into a global healthcare approach. Science, a process of observation to increase understanding, has developed technologies that significantly improve humans’ ability to make observations. Humanity now has the capacity and opportunity of not only seeing the individual patient at specific moments and extrapolating the effect of care over time, but to observe large numbers of people over extended periods of time to increase understanding of dysfunctions/pathologies and treatment outcomes. In the past decade, DO-Touch.NET has grown from a vision of promoting OMM research to a global practice-based research network, finding ways to help patients and clinicians better understand the impact of osteopathy. As DO-Touch.NET begins its second decade, it has a new 2020 vision to help the osteopathic manipulative medicine community incorporate and sustain technologies in their offices to improve their ability to observe conditions over time,
empower patients to actively contribute to a deeper understanding of their condition and how interventions promote their progression to health. Based on this process, evidence and not just anecdote will demonstrate the true power of osteopathy. This is our 2020 vision, purpose, and passion.