Biography
Pratima Sharma, M.D., specializes in gastroenterology and transplant hepatology and serves on the medical staff at the University of Michigan, as well as MyMichigan Medical Center Midland. Dr. Sharma, along with her colleague Neehar Parikh, M.D., provide a monthly Advanced Hepatology Specialty Clinic on the campus of MyMichigan Medical Center Midland to offer expert consultation services to patients from central and northern Michigan with advanced or complex liver disease.
Philosophy of Care
Dr. Sharma’s philosophy of patient care is to provide state of the art and evidence-based care to improve clinical outcomes and quality of life. Her goal is to help patients understand their diagnosis and to partner with them in personalized treatment decisions that reflect their goals and priorities. Her engaging and approachable personality helps patients feel at ease and open to communicating with her.
“Listening with compassion to my patients’ fears and apprehensions pertaining to their diagnoses makes me understand their state of mind,” she said. “I believe in providing them with the knowledge and simple tools regarding disease management and short-term common health-related goals through effective communication. This process empowers them to become motivated and changes their attitude towards their health.”
Special Interests
Dr. Sharma is very well known in the field of organ transplantation. Her research has influenced the allocation policy for liver transplantation so that sicker patients on the list get more access to transplant. Her clinical interests include viral hepatitis, alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, autoimmune liver disease, cirrhosis of the liver and complication of portal hypertension including ascites, hepatic encephalopathy and hepatorenal syndrome, liver cancer and liver transplantation.
