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Nirav R. Shah, M.D., M.P.H.
Commissioner, New York State Department of Health
2007-2010 Cohort
Project Title: "Outpatient Cardiovascular Guidelines Applied in Practice (GAP) Study"






About the Project:
This study aimed to advance a practice-based system for CVD risk management that leads to improved processes of care, improved outcomes, and sustainable (useable and financially viable) change, ultimately yielding an exportable product that can be adopted by other systems (including Kaiser, Group Health Cooperative, and the Cleveland Clinic) that use the Epic or other Electronic Health Record systems.

Biosketch:
Nirav R. Shah, M.D., M.P.H. is the New York State Commissioner of Health. Dr. Shah heads one of the nation’s leading public health agencies with a budget of over $50 billion. Under his leadership, the Department of Health administers the state’s public health insurance programs, which cover 5 million New Yorkers in the Medicaid, Family Health Plus and Child Health Plus programs. The Department also regulates hospitals and other health care facilities, conducts research in a premier biomedical laboratory, and supports public health prevention initiatives related to HIV/AIDS, tobacco use, obesity and other public health priorities. He was previously an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the New York University School of Medicine and an Associate Investigator at the Geisinger Center for Health Research.

Before becoming Commissioner, Dr. Shah was a leading researcher in the use of systems-based methods to improve patient outcomes and the use of large-scale clinical laboratories and electronic health records to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of care. He is a nationally recognized leader in the methods needed to transition health care to lower-cost, patient-centered care for the 21st century.

Dr. Shah is board-certified in Internal Medicine, is an honors graduate of Harvard College and received his medical degree and master’s degree in public health from the Yale School of Medicine. He was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at UCLA and a Robert Wood Johnson Faculty Physician Scholar at NYU. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the New York Academy of Medicine. He has served as the chairman of NIH grant review panels, on the editorial boards of medical journals, received dozens of NIH grants, and published nearly 100 peer-reviewed articles.

For his Physician Faculty Scholars Program project, Dr. Shah focused on cardiovascular disease. The project, "Outpatient Cardiovascular Guidelines Applied in Practice (GAP)," centered on the efficient and effective delivery of preventive care. This program implements national hypertension and cholesterol guidelines (JNC 7 and ATP III) for every eligible patient, integrating population-based screening with care management and customized clinical decision support. By utilizing seamless background processes within electronic health records, physicians can provide evidence-based care without disrupting established workflows, and patients can receive care tailored to their needs and preferences. With widespread adoption of electronic health records in the coming years, the Outpatient GAP study may provide one model for the delivery of preventive care.

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