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Alicia Ines Arbaje, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.

Alicia Ines Arbaje, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.

Headshot of Alicia Ines Arbaje
  • Director of Transitional Care Research
  • Associate Professor of Medicine
Female

Languages: English, Spanish

Expertise

General Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine

Research Interests

Designing healthcare systems to enhance safety and help older adults heal and thrive after hospitalization. Dr. Arbaje focuses on using human factors engineering approaches and novel methods to identify factors that place people at risk of experiencing suboptimal care during transitions across healthcare settings, identify care processes related to successful transitions, and develop clinical interventions to improve care transitions and reduce rehospitalization. ...read more

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Locations

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center

5200 Eastern Ave.
The Center for Transformative Geriatric Research, Mason F. Lord Building, Center Tower, Floor 7
Baltimore, MD 21224 map
Phone: 410-550-8677 | Fax: 410-550-8701

Background

Dr. Alicia Arbaje is Associate Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her areas of clinical expertise include general internal medicine and geriatric medicine, with a particular interest in helping older adults stay at home as they age and working with a team to coordinate care for her older patients. 

Dr. Arbaje serves as the Director of Transitional Care Research at Johns Hopkins.

After receiving her medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine and a masters degree in public health from Harvard University, Dr. Arbaje completed her residency in internal medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital. She performed fellowships in health care research and geriatric medicine and gerontology at Johns Hopkins. 

Her research interests include designing health care systems to enhance safety and improve outcomes for older adults.

Dr. Arbaje is a member of the American Geriatrics Society, the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, and the Gerontological Society of America. At Johns Hopkins, she was a founding member of the Hopkins Organization for Latino Awareness (HOLA) and is a member of the Department of Medicine Diversity Council. Dr. Arbaje is active in speaking to the media about issues relevant to older adults (see her YouTube channel). She has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Top 10 Doctors Under 40 by the Baltimore Sun Magazine and the American Geriatrics Society New Investigator Award. 

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Titles

  • Director of Transitional Care Research
  • Associate Professor of Medicine

Departments / Divisions

Centers & Institutes

Education

Degrees

  • MD; Yale School of Medicine (2000)

Residencies

  • Internal Medicine; Yale-New Haven Hospital (2003)

Fellowships

  • Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology; Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center (2007)
  • Medicine; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (2005)

Board Certifications

  • American Board of Internal Medicine (Geriatric Medicine) (2008)
  • American Board of Internal Medicine (Internal Medicine) (2003)

Research & Publications

Research Summary

Dr. Arbaje's research interests include designing health care systems to enhance safety and improve outcomes for older adults.

Lab

Lab Website: Alicia Arbaje Lab

Selected Publications

View all on PubMed

Arbaje AI, Kansagara DL, Salanitro AH, Englander HL, Kripalani S, Jencks SF, Lindquist LA. Regardless of age: Incorporating principles from geriatric medicine to improve care transitions for patients with complex needs. J Gen Intern Med. 2014 Jun;29(6):932-9. PMID: 24557511 PMCID: PMC4026496.

Arbaje AI, Hughes A, Werner N, Carl K, Hohl D, Jones K, Bowles KH, Chan K, Leff B, Gurses AP. Information management goals and process failures during home visits for middle-aged and older adults receiving skilled home healthcare services after hospital discharge: a multi-site, qualitative study. BMJ Qual Saf. 2018 Jul 17 PMID: 30018114

Arbaje AI, Yu Q, Wang J, Leff B. Senior services in US hospitals and readmission risk in the Medicare population. Int J Qual Health Care. 2017 Oct 1;29(6):845-852.  PMID: 29025049. 

Werner NE, Malkana S, Gurses AP, Leff BA, Arbaje AI. Toward a process-level view of distributed healthcare tasks: Medication management as a case study. Applied Ergonomics. 2017 Nov;65:255-268. PMID: 28802446.

Arbaje AI, Werner NE, Kasda EM, Wu AW, Locke CFS, Aboumatar H, Paine LA, Leff B, Davis RO, Boonyasai RT.  Learning from Lawsuits: Using Malpractice Claims Data to Develop Care Transitions Planning Tools. J Patient Saf 2020 Mar;16(1):52-57. PMID: 27294592

Activities & Honors

Honors

  • Phi Beta Kappa, University of Kansas, 1994
  • Fellow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development, Kansas Health Foundation, 1994
  • Rhodes Scholar National Finalist , University of Kansas, 1996
  • Yale Johnson & Johnson Physician Scholar in International Health, 2003
  • Alpha Omega Alpha Yale , University School of Medicine, 2000
  • Fellow Grantmakers in Aging Fellow, 2005
  • New Investigator Award for Outstanding Research in Geriatrics, American Geriatrics Society, 2008
  • Catch a Shining Star Award, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 2010
  • Emerging Women’s Leadership Program, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Office of Women in Science and Medicine, 2011
  • Nursing Nurse Competence in Aging Writer’s Award, MEDSURG , 2012
  • Armstrong Scholar in Patient Safety, 2012
  • Graduate Training Program in Clinical Investigation , 2012
  • Alumni Honorary Medal, University of Kansas Honors Program, 2012
  • Top 10 Doctors Under 40, Baltimore Region, Baltimore Sun Magazine, 2010
  • Special Recognition Award for Outstanding Service, Public Education Committee, American Geriatrics Society, 2015 - 2015
  • Excellence in Teaching Award, Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, Johns Hopkins University, 2016 - 2016
  • Provost Diversity Recognition Award, Diversity Leadership Council, Johns Hopkins University, 2016 - 2016

Memberships

  • Academy Health, 2004
  • American Geriatrics Society, 2004
  • American Geriatrics Society Public Education Committee, 2012
    Member
  • Association of Yale Alumni in Medicine, 2000
  • Diversity Council, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 2008
    Member
  • Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology Mosaic Initiative to Enhance Diversity, 2010
    Member
  • Gerontological Society of America, 2005
  • Hopkins Organization for Latino Awareness (HOLA), 2009
    Founding Member
  • Society of General Internal Medicine, 2004
  • Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2008 - 2009

    Technical Expert Panels on Care Transitions and Care Coordination

  • The Gerontologist, 2009

    Journal reviewer

  • Work Group on Care Transitions, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2010 - 2011

    Member

  • Annual World Health Care Congress Leadership Summit on Hospital Re-Admissions, 2010 - 2013

    Chairperson

  • Physicians and Providers Advancing Care Transitions Initiative, American College of Physicians, 2011 - 2012

    Section author

  • International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 2012 - 2013

    Journal Reviewer

  • Public Education Committee, American Geriatrics Society, 2012 - 2013

    Member

  • Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 2012 - 2013

    Journal Reviewer

  • Society for General Internal Medicine Work Group on Creating Best-Practices for Older Adults Transitioning from Skilled Nursing Facilities to Outpatient Primary Care, 2012

    Member

  • Healthcare Research and Training Study Section, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2017

    Standing Member

  • American Geriatrics Society, 2020

    Chair, Public Education Committee

  • American College of Physicians, 2020

    Vice Chair, Council of Subspecialty Societies

  • Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), 2020

    Chair, Advisory Panel, Healthcare Delivery and Disparities Research, 

Videos & Media

Play Video:

Aging Well | Q&A

Lectures and Presentations

  • Identification and management of common geriatric syndromes
    Presentation, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (10/01/2009)
    Universidad de la Tercera Edad
  • Strategies for promoting healthy aging
    Presentation, Live Longer and Better Symposium, Bogotá, Colombia (08/01/2011)
    Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá
  • Management of medications in older adults and Falls in older adults
    Presentation, International Symposium of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Guadalajara, Mexico (08/01/2011)
    Hospital Civil de Guadalajara
  • Care Transitions Programs in the United States: Common themes, lessons learned, and broader approaches for improving care
    Presentation, Transitions Programs: Perspectives from Three Continents, Seoul, Korea (06/01/2013)
    20th International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics World Congress
  • Improving care transitions of older adults: Common approaches, lessons learned, and broader applications
    Presentation, 9th Annual Conference of the Australian Disease Management Association, Sydney, Australia (08/01/2013)
  • Approaches to improving care transitions of older adults in the United States
    Presentation, Aurora Visiting Nurse Association of Wisconsin, Melbourne, Australia (08/01/2013)
    Victorian Department of Health
  • Identifying Information Management Challenges during Older Adults’ Transitions from Hospital to Home Care
    Presentation, Suzhou, China (09/01/2014)
    Chinese Congress on Gerontology and Health
  • Learning from Lawsuits: Application of a Human Factors Engineering Approach to Investigate Hospital-to-Home Transitions using Malpractice Data
    Presentation, Suzhou, China (09/01/2014)
    Chinese Congress on Gerontology and Health
  • Identifying Information Management Challenges faced by Home Healthcare Nurses Managing Older Adults’ Transitions from Hospital to Home Care
    Presentation, Second International Home Care Nurses Organization Conference, Singapore, Singapore (09/01/2014)
  • Strategies for Healthy Aging and Obtaining the Best Healthcare Possible
    Presentation, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (01/01/2016)
    Museo Memorial de la Resistencia Dominicana (Memorial Museum of Dominican Resistance)
  • The Role of Geriatrics in Promoting Healthy Aging among Older Adults
    Presentation, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (09/01/2018)
    Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo
  • Bridging the Gaps: Understanding and Improving Older Adults’ Care Transitions across Healthcare Settings and after Surgery
    Presentation, Washington, D.C. (02/01/2019)
    Georgetown University
  • Improving Care Transitions for Older Adults
    Presentation, Yanling International Health Summit, Henan Province, China (04/01/2019)
    China National Economic Planning Center
  • Community Perspectives on Dementia
    Presentation, Seminar, Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias: Impact on Diverse Communities, Baltimore, MD (11/01/2021)
    Morgan State University
  • Transitional Care: Implementation and Lessons Learned
    Presentation, Care New England Geriatrics and Palliative Care Grand Rounds, Providence, RI (12/01/2021)
    Brown University
  • Transitional Care in the United States: Implementation and Lessons Learned
    Presentation, Webinar, South Korea (12/01/2021)
    BAYADA International Home Health Care Committee

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