Edgar Pierluissi, MD

Professor of Medicine, Medical Director, Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Unit, ZSFG, Director, Health Systems Leadership Pathway, UCSF DOM, Associate Chief, Geriatrics Clinical Programs, Zuckerberg San Francisco General

Edgar Pierluissi, M.D., is a Professor of Clinical Medicine at UCSF. He is Medical Director of the Acute Care for Elders Unit at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.

Dr. Pierluissi has cared for vulnerable populations his entire career and is committed to healthcare quality improvement. He merged these interests as the founding Medical Director of the Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Unit at the San Francisco General Hospital. The SFGH adopted this model of care to meet the needs of a growing older population in San Francisco. Since opening in February, 2007, and expanding the unit in 2009, the Unit cares for over 1000 patients each year.

Dr. Pierluissi received his MD from Harvard Medical School and completed training and Chief Residency in Internal Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and a fellowship in Quality Improvement through the Veterans Affairs National Quality Scholars Fellowship. After training he worked for the County of San Mateo as a staff physician, as the medical director of the North County Health Center, and as VP for Quality Improvement. He joined the faculty of the UCSF Division of Geriatrics in 2006 and the SFGH Division of Hospital Medicine in 2008.

Education:
1981-85 University of Chicago, Chicago, IL B.A.
1986-91 Harvard Medical School M.D.

Training:
1991-94 University of California, San Francisco Medicine Residency
1994-95 University of California, San Francisco Chief Resident Medicine
1999-01 Veterans Affairs National Quality Scholars Fellow Quality Improvement
Fellowship, San Francisco, California

Certification:
2011 Medical Licensure, California
1994 Certification, American Board of Internal Medicine
2004, 2014 Recertification, American Board of Internal Medicine

Memberships & Affiliations:
American Geriatrics Society
Education
2017 - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training, University of California
Residency, - Geriatrics, University of California, San Francisco
Publications
  1. Gylys R, Rosenwohl-Mack S, Pierluissi E, Hoffman A. Assessing contributions of value-added medical student roles. 2020. PMID: 32375522


  2. Harbell MW, Li D, Boscardin C, Pierluissi E, Hauer KE. Teaching Systems Improvement to Early Medical Students: Strategies and Lessons Learned. 2019. PMID: 31335811


  3. Raffel KE, Gupta N, Vercammen-Grandjean C, Hohman J, Ranji S, Pierluissi E, Mourad M. A Discharge Time-Out: A Case Study on Physician-Nurse Discharge Communication and the Challenge of Sustainability in Resident-Led Quality Improvement. 2018. PMID: 30345785


  4. Makaroun LK, Bowman C, Duan K, Handley N, Wheeler DJ, Pierluissi E, Chen AH. Specialty Care Access in the Safety Net-the Role of Public Hospitals and Health Systems. 2017. PMID: 28239019


  5. Chodos AH, Kushel MB, Greysen SR, Guzman D, Kessell ER, Sarkar U, Goldman LE, Critchfield JM, Pierluissi E. Hospitalization-Associated Disability in Adults Admitted to a Safety-Net Hospital. 2015. PMID: 25986139


  6. Kellie L. Flood, Katrina Booth, Edgar Pierluissi, Ellen S. Danto-Nocton, Denise M. Kresevic, Robert M. Palmer. Acute Care for Elders. 2015. PMID:


  7. Brown RT, Pierluissi E, Guzman D, Kessell ER, Goldman LE, Sarkar U, Schneidermann M, Critchfield JM, Kushel MB. Functional disability in late-middle-aged and older adults admitted to a safety-net hospital. 2014. PMID: 25367281


  8. Goldman LE, Sarkar U, Kessell E, Guzman D, Schneidermann M, Pierluissi E, Walter B, Vittinghoff E, Critchfield J, Kushel M. Support from hospital to home for elders: a randomized trial. 2014. PMID: 25285540


  9. Greysen SR, Hoi-Cheung D, Garcia V, Kessell E, Sarkar U, Goldman L, Schneidermann M, Critchfield J, Pierluissi E, Kushel M. "Missing pieces"--functional, social, and environmental barriers to recovery for vulnerable older adults transitioning from hospital to home. 2014. PMID: 24934494


  10. Moy NY, Lee SJ, Chan T, Grovey B, Boscardin WJ, Gonzales R, Pierluissi E. Development and sustainability of an inpatient-to-outpatient discharge handoff tool: a quality improvement project. 2014. PMID: 24919253


  11. Edgar Pierluissi, Deborah C. Francis, Kenneth E. Covinsky. Patient and Hospital Factors That Lead to Adverse Outcomes in Hospitalized Elders. 2014. PMID:


  12. Pierluissi E, Mehta KM, Kirby KA, Boscardin WJ, Fortinsky RH, Palmer RM, Landefeld CS. Depressive symptoms after hospitalization in older adults: function and mortality outcomes. 2012. PMID: 23176725


  13. Pierluissi E, Mehta KM, Kirby KA, Boscardin WJ, Fortinsky RH, Palmer RM, Landefeld CS. Depressive Symptoms after Hospitalization in Older Adults: Function and Mortality Outcomes. J Amer Ger Soc 2012. PMID:


  14. Covinsky KE, Pierluissi E, Johnston CB. Hospitalization-associated disability: "She was probably able to ambulate, but I'm not sure". 2011. PMID: 22028354


  15. Mehta KM, Pierluissi E, Boscardin WJ, Kirby KA, Walter LC, Chren MM, Palmer RM, Counsell SR, Landefeld CS. A clinical index to stratify hospitalized older adults according to risk for new-onset disability. 2011. PMID: 21649616


  16. Edgar Pierluissi, Melissa A. Fischer, Andre R. Campbell, C. Seth Landefeld. Discussion of Medical Errors in Morbidity and Mortality Conferences. 2004. PMID:


  17. Pierluissi E, Fischer MA, Campbell AR, Landefeld CS. Discussion of medical errors in morbidity and mortality conferences. 2003. PMID: 14657068