Physicians

Chief, Division of Geriatrics

Department / Division
Medicine / Medicine - Geriatrics

Address
DUMC 3003
Durham, NC 27710

Appointment Telephone
919-620-4070

Office Telephone
919-286-0411, ext. 6932

Fax Telephone
919-286-6823

Training

• MD, Wake Forest University School of Medicine (North Carolina), 1980

Residency

• Internal Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center (Wisconsin), 1980-1983

Fellowship

• Geriatrics, Duke University Medical Center/Durham VA Medical Center, 1986-1988

Clinical Interests
Geriatric medicine, general internal medicine, herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia, drugs and the elderly, geriatric assessment of the frail elderly

Research Interests
Dr. Schmader's primary area of research is herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) and vaccines in older adults.  He conducts pre-clinical, epidemiological and intervention studies of zoster and PHN, particularly with the zoster  and influenza vaccines.  He is involved with other adult vaccine development in older adults. With colleagues in the Division of Infectious Diseases, Dr. Schmader investigates other infections in older adults.  

Another major research focus is adverse drug reactions, medication prescribing and pharmacoepidemiology in the elderly.  The objective of the medication work is to reduce adverse drug reactions, improve inappropriate prescribing and determine drug use patterns in the elderly.  

Industry Relationships and Collaborations (What's this?)

This physician (or a member of their immediate family) has a working relationship (i.e. consulting, research, and/or educational services) with the companies listed below. These relations have been reported to the health system leadership and, when appropriate, management plans are in place to address potential conflicts.

• Merck & Co. USA (not assoc'd with Merck KGaA)
• UpToDate, Inc.

Representative Publications
Dworkin RH, Schmader KE. The treatment and prevention of postherpetic neuralgia. Clin Infect Dis 2003;36:877-82. (2003)

Hanlon JT, Fillenbaum GG, Kuchibhatla M, Artz M, Boult C, Gross CR, Garrard J, Schmader KE. Impact of inappropriate drug use on mortality and decline in functional status in representative community dwelling elders. Medical Care 2002;40:166-76. (2002)

Schmader KE. Herpes zoster in older adults. Clin Infect Dis 2001;32(10):1481-6. (2001)

Schmader KE, George LK, Burchett BM, Hamilton JD, Pieper CF. Race and stress in the incidence of herpes zoster in the elderly. J Am Geriatr Soc 1998;46:973-977. (1998)

Schmader KE, Hanlon JT, Fillenbaum GG, Huber MA, Horner R, Pieper C. Medication use patterns among demented, cognitively impaired and cognitively intact community dwelling elderly. Age and Ageing 1998;27:493-501. (1998)

Schmader KE, George LK, Hamilton JD. Racial differences in the occurrence of herpes zoster. J Infect Dis 1995;171:701-705. (1995)

Schmader KE, Hanlon JT, Weinberger M, Samsa GP, Landsman P, Lewis I, Uttech K, Cohen HJ, Feussner JR. Appropriateness of medication prescribing in ambulatory elderly patients. J Am Geriatr Soc 1994;42:1241-1247. (1994)

Hanlon JT, Schmader KE, Samsa GP, Weinberger M, Uttech K, Cohen HJ, Feussner JR. A method of assessing drug therapy appropriateness. J Clin Epidemiol 1992;45:1045-1053. (1992)