GHEC affiliate profile Emily Finlayson
Name
Affiliations
Narrative
Goals
Selected
projects and
plans
Collaborators
(selected)
5 key
publications
Teaching
Skills
Substantive
areas
Emily Finlayson, MD, MS
IHPS, DOS
Health services researcher with focus on optimizing surgical care and functional
recovery in frail adults. To date, my approach has been to use administrative data and
national large nursing home registry to evaluate functional recovery after major surgery
in nursing home residents in the United States.
 Evaluate cost-effectiveness of operative v nonoperative treatment options for frail
elders without being accused of being a death paneler.
 Development of the UCSF Center for Surgery in Older Adults to implement best
practices in geriatric surgery at UCSF.
 Optimizing treatment for nursing home residents with acute cholecystitis. NIHfunded comparative effectiveness study of surgical v. medical treatment of acute
cholecystitis in US nursing home residents. Plans: Cost analysis of medical v. surgical
therapy at the end of life.
 Development of the UCSF Center for Surgery in Older Adults: New multidisciplinary
initiative to transform delivery of surgical care to frail older adults at UCSF.
Innovations include: individualized care plans that fully incorporate elderly patients’
goals of care; pre-operative optimization to get ‘fit for surgery’; highest standard of
care after surgery to prevent delirium and loss of function
 Clinical & epidemiology researchers: Ken Covinsky (UCSF), Alex Smith (UCSF), Sei Lee
(UCSF), John Boscardin (UCSF), Phil Goodney (Dartmouth).
 Program implementers: Christine Ritchie (UCSF)
 Finlayson E, Fan Z, Birkmeyer JD. Outcomes in octogenarians undergoing high risk
cancer surgery. Journal of the American College of Surgeons. 12/2007; 205(6): 72934.
 Finlayson E, Maselli J. Steinman MA, Rothberg MB, Lindenauer PK, Auerbach
AD. Inappropriate medication use in older adults undergoing surgery: A national
study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2011; 59(11): 2139-2144
 Finlayson E, Wang L, Landefeld S, Dudley RA. Major surgery in nursing home
residents: a national study. Annals of Surgery. 2011; 254(6):921-926.
 Finlayson E, Zhao S, Boscardin WJ, Fries BE, Landefeld CS, Dudley RA. Functional
status after colon cancer surgery in elderly nursing home residents. Journal of the
American Geriatrics Society. 2012; 60(5):967-73
 Finlayson E, Zhao S, Varma MG. Outcomes after rectal surgery in nursing home
residents. Diseases of the Colon and Rectum, 2012; 55(12):1229-35.
Mentoring: UCSF Medical Students, UCSF Surgery Residents
Established: Research with administrative data, systematic review.
Desired: Implementation science, cost modeling.
Established: Surgery, geriatrics.
Desired: NCDs.
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