Medical Research

Christina Chen, M.D., a Mayo Clinic physician in internal medicine and geriatrics, is working to change how clinicians and patients think about aging. In a publication in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, coauthored with Sara Bonnes, M.D., she outlines a new framework for "healthspan" — the years of life spent in good health, with preserved function, cognition and independence. Here, Dr. Chen explains why living longer is not the same as living well, and how that distinction could reshape medical care.