About David Michael Shahian, MD

Current Positions

Biography

David Michael Shahian, MD, is a summa cum laude graduate of Harvard College and received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. He trained in general surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and completed his fellowship in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at Rush-Presbyterian–St. Luke’s Medical Center. For nearly a quarter century, Dr. Shahian was an attending cardiothoracic surgeon at Lahey Health (formerly Lahey Clinic), most of that time serving as chair of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery. He also served terms as president of the medical staff and member of the board of governors. Dr. Shahian is currently professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and vice president of the Mass General Lawrence Center for Quality and Safety.

Dr. Shahian has previously served as the inaugural chair of the Massachusetts Cardiac Care Quality Commission, which led development of the Massachusetts cardiac surgery public reporting system, and he also served as president of the Massachusetts Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Nationally, Dr. Shahian is chair of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Quality Measurement Task Force and its Workforce on Quality, in which capacities he has led development of dozens of National Quality Forum-endorsed performance measures and the risk models upon which they are based. He is past-chair of the STS National Database Workforce and the STS Council on Quality, Research and Patient Safety, overseeing all database, quality measurement and public reporting activities. Dr. Shahian co-led development of the STS national voluntary public reporting program. In recognition of this and related quality activities, he accepted the 2018 Eisenberg Award of the Joint Commission and National Quality Forum on behalf of STS. In 2017, Dr. Shahian received the STS Distinguished Service Award.

Dr. Shahian has served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the National Quality Forum and the Board of the PCPI, and he is the founding chair of the National Quality Registry Network. Dr. Shahian has published more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific articles and he is deputy editor of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

Departments, Centers & Programs:

Languages:

  • English

Professional Education

  • BA, Harvard College
  • MD, Harvard Medical School
  • Residency, Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Fellowship, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center

Research & Publications

Recent Publications

  • Shahian DM. Commentary: Driving improvement. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2020;159(5):1794-5
  • Nawata K, D'Agostino RS, Habib RH, Kumamaru H, Hirahara N, Miyata H, Motomura N, Takamoto S, Shahian DM, Grover FL. First Database Comparison Between the United States and Japan: Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting. Ann Thorac Surg. 2020;109(4):1159-64
  • Swain JA, Rich JB, Mehaffey JH, Subramanian VA, Bilfinger TV, Shahian DM. Discussion. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2020;160(2):431-2
  • Shahian DM. Invited Commentary. Ann Thorac Surg. 2020;109(5):1407-8
  • Shahian DM, Kozower BD, Fernandez FG, Badhwar V, O'Brien SM. The Use and Misuse of Indirectly Standardized, Risk-Adjusted Outcomes and Star Ratings. Ann Thorac Surg. 2020;109(5):1319-22
  • Broderick SR, Grau-Sepulveda M, Kosinski AS, Kurlansky PA, Shahian DM, Jacobs JP, Becker S, DeCamp MM, Seder CW, Grogan EL, Brown LM, Burfeind W, Magee M, Raymond DP, Puri V, Chang AC, Kozower BD. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Composite Score Rating for Pulmonary Resection for Lung Cancer. Ann Thorac Surg. 2020;109(3):848-55
  • Shahian DM, Liu X, Mort EA, Normand ST. The association of hospital teaching intensity with 30-day postdischarge heart failure readmission and mortality rates. Health Serv Res. 2020;55(2):259-72
  • Shahian D. Improving cardiac surgical quality: lessons from the Japanese experience. BMJ Qual Saf. 2020;29(7):531-5
  • Klarin D, Patel VI, Zhang S, Xian Y, Kosinski A, Yerokun B, Badhwar V, Thourani VH, Sundt TM, Shahian D, Melnitchouk S. Concomitant carotid endarterectomy and cardiac surgery does not decrease postoperative stroke rates. J Vasc Surg. 2020;72(2):589-96.e3
  • Mori M, Shahian DM, Huang C, Li SX, Normand ST, Geirsson A, Krumholz HM. Surgeons: Buyer beware-does "universal" risk prediction model apply to patients universally? J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2020;160(1):176-9.e2

See more publications >

    #1 Research Hospital in America

    Mass General is the #1 Research Hospital in America and the only hospital to be recognized in all 16 specialties assessed by U.S. News & World Report.

    More about Mass General

    The Mass General Center for Quality & Safety

    Mass General is committed to providing the highest quality, safest care to all patients.

    Learn more

    Quality & Safety

    The Codman Center for Clinical Effectiveness in Surgery at Mass General leads a range of quality and safety initiatives to improve patient care.

    Learn more