50 Most Influential Physician Executives – 2016
Rank: 7
DR. David Torchiana
President and CEO, Partners HealthCare
Dr. David Torchiana has served as president and CEO of Boston-based Partners HealthCare since early 2015, succeeding Dr. Gary Gottlieb. He took the reins at a tough time for Partners, which was undergoing intense criticism for an expansion plan that drew antitrust scrutiny. The system was also suffering losses from its fledgling insurance business. Before taking the top job at Partners, Torchiana was chairman and CEO of the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization, a Partners subsidiary and the largest physician group practice in New England, with more than 2,000 participating doctors. Torchiana, a cardiothoracic surgeon, practiced at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, eventually becoming chief of cardiac surgery in 1998 before being named CEO of the medical group in 2003. Under Torchiana's leadership, Massachusetts General began the Care Management Program, one of six demonstration projects established nationwide. The three-year demonstration allowed the hospital to design new strategies to improve the delivery of care to its most vulnerable patients, those with multiple health conditions and chronic disease.