Poonam Merai, MD

Dr. Poonam is an Internist and Geriatrician at Harper Health. She is a Chicagoland native and attended the University of Illinois Chicago, graduating Summa Cum Laude with Departmental Distinction in Philosophy.

During this time, she studied Buddhist Philosophy in India and learned holistic medicine from a traditional Tibetan physician. Dr. Poonam then earned her MD from the University of Illinois Chicago, achieving recognition in the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society.

After completing her Internal Medicine Residency and Geriatrics Fellowship training at the University of Chicago, she traveled with her husband to Guam as a hospitalist and intensivist. It is there that her passion for prevention grew as she realized that so much of what she treated in the hospital could have been prevented with measures outside the hospital. In 2016 she returned from Guam and joined Rush Medicine as Faculty in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics and trained future doctors on how to deliver compassionate, high-quality care.

Harper Health is different. Founder Will Harper often invokes the famous early 20th century physician, William Osler, to students when teaching about patient care. Osler said, “Listen to the patient, (s)he’s telling you the diagnosis.” Dr. Will tells his students, “If you’re not sure what’s going on with a patient at the end of an encounter, go back and listen some more.”  

Harper Health is designed so physicians can channel Osler’s vision. We give you our time and full attention—and that means helping you create a healthier, more vibrant life. 

Harper Health physicians attend to you as a complete person. Our diagnostic approach, treatment plan and communication system are all designed to be integrated into what is going on in your life.