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 Hospital and Medical Center, 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 a senior surgeon in the MGH Department of Surgery and the Division of Cardiac Surgery.
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, in which capacity 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, the STS Workforce on Quality, and the STS Council on Quality, Research and Patient Safety, in which roles he was responsible for all STS database, quality measurement and public reporting activities. Dr. Shahian co-led development of the STS national voluntary public reporting program, the most expansive of any healthcare professional society. In recognition of this and related quality activities, on behalf of STS he accepted the 2018 Eisenberg Award of the Joint Commission and National Quality Forum. In 2017, Dr. Shahian also received the STS Distinguished Service Award for his leadership in database and quality activities.
Dr. Shahian has served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the National Quality Forum and the Board of the PCPI. He has published more than 340 peer-reviewed scientific articles and previously served as deputy editor of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Shahian has been a member of multiple CMS and NQF technical expert panels (TEP) related to quality measurement, most recently the CMS/Yale CORE group TEP for CMS Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings and the NQF Risk-Adjustment Guidance TEP.
Departments, Centers & Programs:
Languages:
Professional Education
Mass General is recognized as a top hospital on the U.S. News Best Hospitals Honor Roll for 2024-2025.
Mass General is committed to providing the highest quality, safest care to all patients.
The Codman Center for Clinical Effectiveness in Surgery at Mass General leads a range of quality and safety initiatives to improve patient care.
Uncontrolled blood pressure puts people at increased risk of developing heart disease, brain disease, and kidney disease, yet only one in four people have their blood pressure under good control.
New study shows that being sedentary increases the risk of the most common types of heart disease, even among those who get enough exercise
Noli Taylor’s ongoing chest tightness was more than minor pains. When scans revealed a rare congenital heart anomaly, clinicians at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital collaborated with experts at Mass General to diagnose the condition and perform a successful surgery to repair it.
Researchers from Mass General have found that engaging in recommended weekly amounts of physical activity—either concentrated in one to two days or spread throughout the week—may reduce the risk of a broad range of conditions.
On June 9, 2024, mother of three Kelli Shaw celebrated her 10-year wedding anniversary with a vow renewal ceremony. It is a milestone she nearly did not live to see following a medical emergency less than a year ago
This scientific statement outlines the current state-of-the-art on the use of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and data science in the diagnosis, classification and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
