William McDonald, MD

Personalized primary care in the heart of Manhattan for patients 55+

William McDonald, MD

Dr. William McDonald is a board certified Internist with specialized training in Geriatric Medicine. He received his medical degree from the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA. Dr. McDonald completed his residency in Internal Medicine-Primary Care at Yale in New Haven, CT, where he was also a Chief Medical Resident. He completed his fellowship in Geriatrics at Weill Cornell in New York, NY. His areas of research and expertise include medication appropriateness and deprescribing.

  • Mangal S, Hyder M, Mancini J, Zarzuela K, McDonald W, Safford M, Lachs M, Goyal P. Physician-Reported Facilitators and Barriers for Side Effect Management of Heart Failure Medications. J Am Heart Assoc. 2024 Aug 20;13(16):e033615.

    Cohen AB, McDonald WM, O'Leary JR, Omer ZB, Fried TR. High-Intensity Care for Nursing Home Residents With Severe Dementia Hospitalized at the End of Life: A Mixed Methods Study. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2024 Mar 7:S1525-8610(24)00130-0.

“My medical career is dedicated to helping my patients live well, and I have found that living well looks different for every one of my patients. Some want to play tennis at the top of their game, while others want the same success in their vibrant careers! Whatever your goals, my job is to help you reach them.”

- Dr. McDonald

What is aging well?

Aging is a natural part of life, and one that we take very seriously. Many symptoms we often attribute to aging, such as an aching knee or forgetting a name at a party, but this is often not the case. Aging well is an understanding that it is true our bodies are changing, but we do not have to sacrifice who we are. We strive to determine what’s important to you in life, and in essence what makes you, you. We then do everything in our power to determine your priorities and ensure nothing prevents you from achieving your goals.

  • Modern medicine continues to develop innovative treatments for all types of diseases. However, with more treatment often comes more medications. As a medication list grows, it is important to ensure each medication helping you improve your quality of life. We have special expertise in understanding how each medication fits into the bigger picture of your health. Using validated tools we can provide a systematic review of your medications, providing you with information on how each medication is helping you as well as analyze if there are potential medication interactions and potentially inappropriate medications that may be causing more harm than good with unwanted side effects. Through this review, we also try to determine if there are ways to optimize and simplify your medication list.

  • With a background in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, we are comfortable managing multiple different medical conditions in concert. This often means finding the balance and compromise between competing conditions and sometimes competing specialists. We have an extensive network of referrals available to specialists we know and trust, but look forward to forming new relationships with your providers.

  • We have all heard about the dangers of a bad fall, but it can be hard to determine what can be done to prevent them. In truth, there is no one size fits all approach as each patient requires a different plan. Through specialized training in geriatrics, we have developed a methodical approach to identify potential risks for falls and mitigate their effects. For some, it may mean a new pair of loafers. For others, it may mean Tai Chi in Central Park. Whatever the need, we will ensure every precaution is taken to keep you upright.

  • An important aspect of our practice is returning to some of the original principles of medicine. Being invited to a patient’s home is as much a privilege as it is an opportunity to determine how to provide even better care. To that end, we are happy to offer house calls as an essential part of our practice. Let us bring our medical expertise to the comfort of your home.

  • An important part of looking years ahead is planning for the future. In a medical context, this also means sharing what’s important to you with your medical providers and your loved one. We take pride in having specialized training navigating these conversations to help give you peace of mind.