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https://www Photo

Is Super
Southern California Super Doctors
Specialty:
Medicine, Rheumatology
Department Affiliation:
Medicine, Rheumatology
Hospital Affiliation:
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center
State License:
G80802
Languages:
Spanish
Phone:
310-825-2448
Health Plans:
Accepted Plans
  • About Me
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About Me

John D. FitzGerald, MD, Ph.D. research focuses on gout. Dr. FitzGerald is studying the impact of gout on cholesterol and how that relationship impacts atherosclerosis. Dr. FitzGerald, working with the Ozcan lab, has a patent (pending) application that uses a lens-free polarized microscope to identify gout (monosodium urate – MSU) and pseudogout (calcium pyrophosphate– CPP) crystals. In addition to several reviews and editorials on gout, Dr. FitzGerald has been the lead author for the American College of Rheumatology Gout Quality Improvement Measures and American College of Rheumatology Gout Guidelines.

Dr. FitzGerald is also interested in Quality of Care and patient outcomes research. He has studied the impact of Rheumatology physician supply on patient care, hospital surgical volume on patient outcomes and patient quality of life after joint replacement surgery. Dr. FitzGerald also conducts policy research.

Finally, Dr. FitzGerald has led national efforts to ensure the quality of care for Musculoskeletal Ultrasound applications in Rheumatology.

Dr. FitzGerald received his MD from Tufts University in 1993. He received Ph.D. in Health Services from UCLA in 2005. He completed his medical residency in 1996 and fellowship in Rheumatology in 1999, both at UCLA.

Dr. FitzGerald has been on faculty in the Division of Rheumatology since 1999. He is the Clinical Chief of Rheumatology.

Dr. FitzGerald sees patients 1 half-day per week in Westwood and 2 half days per week in Santa Monica.

He also holds appointments at West Los Angeles Veterans Health Administration and RAND.

Links
uclahealth.org/rheumatology
Primary Office
Rheumatology - Westwood
200 UCLA Medical Plaza
Suite B365
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Get Directions
View Map
Phone
310-825-2448
Fax
310-794-6553
Secondary Office
Santa Monica Rheumatology
2020 Santa Monica Blvd.
Suite 540
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Get Directions
View Map
Phone
310-582-6350
Medical Board Certifications
Rheumatology, American Board of Internal Medicine, 1999
Fellowship
Rheumatology, UCLA School of Medicine, 1996-1999
Residency
Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine, 1994-1996
Internship
Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine, 1993-1994
Degree
UCLA School of Public Health, PhD, 2005
Tufts University School of Medicine, MD, 1993
Interests
  • General Rheumatology

    Home Page - Arthritis and Other Rheumatic Diseases

    Arthritis and other rheumatic diseases are characterized by pain, swelling, and limited movement in joints and connective tissues in the body. Anatomy of a Joint, About Arthritis and Other Rheumatic Diseases, Diagnosing Arthritis and Other Rheumatic Diseases, Common Types of Arthritis and Other Rheumatic Diseases, Treatment for Arthritis and Other Rheumatic Diseases are described.
    Learn more >
  • Gout

    Gout

    Gout is a health problem that causes inflamed, painful joints. The symptoms are caused by deposits of uric acid crystals at the joints. It is often linked with obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.
    Learn more >
  • Musculoskeletal Ultrasound
Research Interests
  • Gout
  • Synovial fluid crystal microscopic analysis
  • Joint Replacement Surgery
  • Health Disparities
  • Musculoskeletal Ultrasound
  • Health Policy
Publications

Link to my PubMed publications >

Gout

  1. FitzGerald JD, Dalbeth N, Mikuls T, Brignardello-Petersen R, Guyatt G, Abeles AM, Gelber AC, Harrold LR, Khanna D, King C, Levy G, Libbey C, Mount D, Pillinger MH, Rosenthal A, Singh JA, Sims JE, Smith BJ, Wenger NS, Bae SS, Danve A, Khanna PP, Kim SC, Lenert A, Poon S, Qasim A, Sehra ST, Sharma TSK, Toprover M, Turgunbaev M, Zeng L, Zhang MA, Turner AS, Neogi T. 2020 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Management of Gout. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2020 Jun;72(6):879-895.
  2. FitzGerald JD, Mikuls T, Neogi T, Singh J, Robbins M, Khanna P, Miller A, Myslinski R, Suter L. "Development of the American College of Rheumatology's Gout Electronic Clinical Quality Measures" Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2018 May;70(5): 659-671.

Synovial fluid crystal microscopic analysis

  1. Zhang Y, Lee SY, Zhang Y, Furst D, Fitzgerald J, Ozcan A. Wide-field imaging of birefringent synovial fluid crystals using lens-free polarized microscopy for gout diagnosis. Sci Rep. 2016 Jun 30;6:28793.
  2. Bai B, Wang H, Liu T, Rivenson Y, FitzGerald J, Ozcan A. "Pathological crystal imaging with single-shot computational polarized light microscopy." J Biophotonics. 2019 Sep 4

Joint Replacement Surgery

  1. FitzGerald JD, Orav EJ, Lee TH, Marcantonio ER, Poss R, Goldman L, Mangione CM. "Patient Quality of Life during the 12-months following Total Joint Replacement Surgery." Arthritis Rheum 2004; 41: 100-109.

Health Disparities:

  1. Weng HH, Kaplan RM, MacLean CH, Lee IY, Chen WL, FitzGerald JD. "Development of a Decision-Aid to Address Racial Disparities in Utilization of Knee Replacement Surgery." Arthritis Rheum. 2007 May 15;57(4):568-75
  2. Volkman ER, FitzGerald JD. "Reducing gender disparities in post-total knee arthroplasty expectations through a decision aid." BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2015, 16:16 (7 February 2015)

Musculoskeletal Ultrasound

  1. McAlindon T, Kissin E, Nazarian L, Ranganath V, Prakash S, Taylor M, Bannuru RR, Srinivasan S, Gogia M, McMahon MA, Grossman J, Kafaja S, FitzGerald J "American College of Rheumatology Report on Reasonable Use of Musculoskeletal Ultrasonography in Rheumatology Clinical Practice." Arthritis Care Res 2012 Nov;64(11):1625-40. PMID: 23111854
Awards
  • Top Doctors, Los Angeles Magazine, 2021
  • Top Doctors, Los Angeles Magazine, 2018
Webinar URL

Medical Education

Musculoskeletal Ultrasound
John D. Fitzgerald, MD, PhD, MBA click here to update your profile
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