Michael J. Fine, MD, MSc is an Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UPSOM) and without compensation investigator at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. He was previously a UPSOM Distinguished Professor of Medicine and the founding and long-term Director of the Center for Healthcare Evaluation, Research, and Promotion (CHERP), a leadership position he held for 25 years. CHERP is a national VA Center of Innovation in Health Services Research collocated at the at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System and the Corporal Michael Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA. His research focuses on ways to improve the quality of medical care for patients with common medical problems, such as pneumonia, diabetes, and pulmonary embolus. His past research employed retrospective and prospective cohort designs, with extensive emphasis on assessment of patient-centered outcomes. His research has also utilized randomized clinical trial design to test the effectiveness and safety of implementing medical practice guidelines to improve the quality and efficiency of care for patients with common medical illnesses.
Dr. Fine has been recognized locally and nationally as an outstanding mentor for over 70 individuals at all career stages. He is a strong proponent of striving for work-life balance and developing passions outside of work. His current non-work interests include tennis, skiing, travel, gardening, cooking, and spending time with family and friends.
Education & Training
- BA (Anthropology), Dartmouth College, 1979
- MD, Hahnemann Medical School, 1983
- Internship (Internal Medicine), UPMC Presbyterian, 1983
- Residency (Internal Medicine), UPMC Presbyterian, 1984
- Residency (Internal Medicine), UPMC Presbyterian, 1985
- Chief Medical Resident (Internal Medicine), UPMC Presbyterian 1986
- Fellowship for Faculty Development (General Internal Medicine), Massachusetts General Hospital, 1987
- MSc (Epidemiology), Harvard School of Public Health, 1989
Representative Publications
Radomski TR, Decker A, Khodyakov D, Thorpe CT, Hanlon JT, Roberts MS, Fine MJ, Gellad WF. Development of a metric to detect and decrease low-value prescribing in older adults. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Feb 1;5(2)e2148599.
Using a Delphi consensus building process, this study identified 18 low-value medication prescribing practices for older adults deemed to have high scientific validity and clinical usefulness from 527 potential low-value prescribing practices found in the medical literature. Applying the derived EVOLV-Rx metric among older adults may enhance the detection of low-value prescribing practices, reduce polypharmacy, and facilitate receipt of high-value care across the full spectrum of health services.
Barlas RS, Clark AB, Loke YK, Kwok CS, Angus DC, Uranga A, España PP, Eurich DT, Huang DT, Man SY, Rainer TH, Yealy DM, Myint PK, Mor MK, Fine MJ. Comparison of the prognostic performance of the CURB-65 and a modified version of the pneumonia severity index designed to identify high-risk patients using the International Community-Acquired Pneumonia Collaboration Cohort. Respir Med. 2022 Aug-Sep;200:106884.
In individual level meta-data for 13,874 patients with community-acquired pneumonia from 6 patient cohorts and 4 countries, this study reengineered a version of the Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI), termed the PSI High-Risk (PSI-HR), that better identified patients at the higher end of the severity spectrum. PSI-HR demonstrated superior prognostic accuracy to CURB-65 at the lower end of the illness severity spectrum and identified high-risk patients with non-significantly higher mortality at the higher end.
Metlay JP, Waterer GW, Long AC, Anzueto A, Brozek J, Crothers K, Cooley LA, Dean NC, Fine MJ, Flanders SA, Griffin MR, Metersky ML, Musher DM, Restrepo MI, Whitney CG. Diagnosis and treatment of adults with community-acquired pneumonia: An official clinical practice guideline of the American Thoracic Scoiety and Infectious Diseases Society of America. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2019 Oct 1;200(7):e45-e67.
Under the auspices of the American Thoracic Society and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, a multidisciplinary panel conducted pragmatic systematic reviews of the relevant research and applied Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation methodology to develop evidence-based clinical practice guidelines on the management of adult patients with community-acquired pneumonia. The panel developed recommendations for 16 PICO questions spanning diagnostic testing, determination of site of care, selection of initial empiric antibiotic therapy, and additional subsequent management decisions.
Visit Dr. Fine's complete bibliography of more than 300 original peer review publications, reviews, editorials, and commentaries on NCBI and Google Scholar.
Research Interests
- Quality of care
- Patient-centered outcomes
- Practice guideline implementation