Elizabeth Anne Phelan, M.D., M.S.

Elizabeth A. Phelan, MD, MS, is associate professor in the division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, adjunct associate professor in the department of Health Services, associate director of the UW Health Promotion Research Center, and affiliate investigator with the Group Health Research Institute. She is co-director of the UW Center for Interdisciplinary Geriatric Research and founder and director of the Fall Prevention Clinic at Harborview Medical Center. She is a clinically active, fellowship trained geriatrician whose clinical work encompasses the inpatient and outpatient settings and involves teaching principles of geriatric medicine to students, residents, and fellows.

Patient Care Philosophy
"I perceive myself to be a partner with my patients in achieving their own goals for their health."

Personal Interests
French culture and language/literature, classical piano and traveling.

Clinical Interests
Health promotion, quality of care and outcomes assessment.

Research Interests
Dr. Phelan's research aims to promote health and prevent functional decline in community dwelling older adults. In 2003, she received the Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholars in Aging Research Program Award to study a new model of care for older adults in primary care settings.

In 2000, she received the Pfizer/American Geriatrics Society Foundation for Health in Aging Postdoctoral Fellowship for Research on Health Outcomes in Geriatrics to evaluate the impact of physician practice style on functional status in outpatient elders. She was named the 2007 UW Department of Medicine's Philip and Helen Fialkow Scholar, an award that honors the late UW dean of medicine and his wife and recognizes the outstanding achievements of junior faculty in medicine in research, teaching, clinical work, and academic citizenship.

Currently Dr. Phelan's research focuses on improving quality of care for geriatric syndromes, in particular falls and fall prevention. She is presently an investigator on two externally funded research projects which focus on translating evidence-based approaches to geriatric syndrome management (falls, depression) into clinical practice. She also has an interest in improving the quality of primary care for dementia.

Languages
English

Expertise
Geriatrics, Internal Medicine