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INFORMATION FOR

    Mary Tinetti, MD

    Gladys Phillips Crofoot Professor of Medicine (Geriatrics) and Professor in the Institution for Social and Policy Studies
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    Gladys Phillips Crofoot Professor of Medicine (Geriatrics) and Professor in the Institution for Social and Policy Studies

    Biography

    Dr. Tinetti is the Gladys Philips Crofoot Professor of Medicine and a professor at the Institution for Social and Policy Studies. Her current research and clinical focus is on clinical decision-making for older adults in the face of multiple health conditions, measuring the net benefit and harms of commonly used medications, and the importance of cross-disease universal health outcomes. She is leading a national effort,(Patient Priorities Care) to develop and test an approach to health care that aligns clinical care and decision-making with the specific health priorities of older adults with multiple conditions. This initiative involves: 1) helping older adults identify the health goals they most desire in the face of tradeoffs and the health care they are willing and able to receive (their healthcare preferences)to achieve these goals; and 2) guiding clinicians to translate these goals and preferences into care decisions. She is evaluating the feasibility of this approach in clinical practice and its effect on patient-reported outcomes and healthcare utilization. She also chairs a group of advisors helping health systems be Age-Friendly. Dr. Tinetti’s work is funded by the NIH and several foundations. She has published over 250 original peer-reviewed articles. She has served on several national advisory committees including the FDA, NCQA, NQF. Dr. Tinetti has received numerous awards and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation fellowship.

    Last Updated on February 14, 2024.

    Appointments

    Other Departments & Organizations

    Education & Training

    Fellow
    University of Rochester and Monroe Hospital (1984)
    Resident
    University of Minnesota (1981)
    MD
    University of Michigan (1978)

    Board Certifications

    • Internal Medicine

      Certification Organization
      AB of Internal Medicine
      Original Certification Date
      1981

    Research

    Overview

    Many of the most frequent health conditions that cause morbidity and compromised functioning and quality of life among older persons result from combinations of medical, psychological, social, environmental, and other factors. The focus of my work has been on the assessment, management, and prevention of multifactorial geriatric health conditions such as falls, immobility, and dizziness. Observational studies and randomized controlled trials are conducted in various settings including the home, hospital, nursing home and outpatient clinics. The research projects are interdisciplinary including nursing, rehabilitation, epidemiology, biostatistics, medicine, and other disciplines.


    Other ongoing projects include determining the contribution of multiple conditions to death; mapping disease-specific health outcomes onto a set of universal health outcomes; determining the prevalence and effects of the co-occurrence of competing health conditions; and determining the disease-specific and universal health outcomes associated with treating one disease in the face of the co-occurrence of another disease that worsens with treatment of the first disease (therapeutic competition). I am leading a national effort to develop and test an approach to health care that realigns primary and specialty care to focus on the health priorities of older adults with multiple conditions.

    • Multimorbidity in older adults (Variable priorities in the face of competing outcomes: The tradeoff among cardiovascular events, medication symptoms, and fall injuries.)
    • Universal outcomes as a common metric across multiple diseases among elders.
    • Aligning clinical-decision-making and care with the health priorities of older adults with multiple chronic conditions

    Medical Research Interests

    Accidental Falls; Decision Making; Geriatrics; Risk Factors

    Research at a Glance

    Yale Co-Authors

    Frequent collaborators of Mary Tinetti's published research.

    Publications

    Featured Publications

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    Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

    Activities

    • activity

      Appointments and Promotions Committee, Epidemiology and Public Health

      12/31/2015 - PresentCommitteesMember
    • activity

      ADGAP Board of Directors

      12/31/2012 - PresentProfessional OrganizationsMember
    • activity

      HCSRN-OAIC AGING Initiative Steering Committee

      12/31/2013 - PresentCommitteesMember
    • activity

      National Committee on Quality Assurance

      12/31/2013 - PresentCommitteesMember
    • activity

      Institute for Healthcare Improvement: Advancing Age Friendly Health Systems

      12/31/2015 - PresentProfessional OrganizationsMember
    View full list of activities

    Honors

    • honor

      Kent Award

      07/23/2017National AwardGerontological Society of America
    • honor

      Honorary Doctorate

      03/09/2012International AwardLeuven University, Belgium
    • honor

      Distinguished Alumni Award

      11/11/2011National AwardUniversity of Minnesota Internal Medicine Residency Program.
    • honor

      Edward Henderson Award

      05/14/2011National AwardThe American Geriatrics Society
    • honor

      Atlantic Philanthropies Health and Aging Fellowship

      01/01/2011, 01/01/2010National Award
    View full list of honors

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