Christopher W. Shanahan MD, MPH FACP
Clinical Associate Professor, General Internal Medicine
801 Massachusetts Ave | (617) 414-4562christopher.shanahan@bmc.org
cshanaha@bu.edu
Sections
General Internal Medicine
Centers
Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit
Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
Biography
Christopher Shanahan, MD is a practicing primary care physician with board certification in both Internal and Addiction Medicine with 14+ years of experience in clinical and research Information Technology (IT). Dr. Shanahan possesses a unique blend of experience and expertise in three domains:
1. Clinical & Research Medical Informatics & Information Technology;
2. Substance Use Disorders and Chronic Pain; and
3. Community Medicine (Community-based care and collaboration with community-based organizations, clinicians, and patients).
His expertise in assessing IT requirements of research projects (IT focused or enabled) makes him a valuable and sought after collaborator who assists with project design, development, and/or technical assessment of clinical research studies planning to leverage IT resources to facilitate their projects. He draws upon a broad network of local and national colleagues to help develop feasible and implementable program and study plans.
As a multi-talented collaborator who combines informatics expertise with activities focused on substance abuse disorders, he has led or collaborated with others to design and develop substance use focused programs and research studies enhanced by the use IT.
He adds a third dimension through his focus on 13 affiliated local Community Health Centers comprising the Boston HealthNet as Director for Community Medicine Unit. He maintains active working relationships with multiple community-based organizations and has over 24 years of community-based clinical practice. Dr. Shanahan's current projects:
Transforming Opioid Prescribing in Primary Care (TOPCARE): a randomized clinical trial of enhanced care model to transform care for chronic pain patients and their opioid-based treatment. A key trial component is a secure enhanced web-based, electronic patient registry.
Targeting Effective Analgesia in Clinics for HIV (TEACH): a randomized clinical trial of the TOPCARE an HIV specialty treatment setting using an adapted version of the TOPCARE registry.
Carefusion: Optimizing Pain Control and Safety in Patients Prescribed Opioid after Day Surgery: A pilot study investigating surgeon prescribing practices & the patient medication taking behaviors for acute ambulatory post-operative pain in preparation for a larger Randomized study of a a future randomized clinical trial of enhanced care model to transform care for acute pain in ambulatory post-operative patients
Clinical Translational Science Institute (CTSI):
A. As Director of the Clinical Research Informatics and Technology Consultation (CRITC) Service he assists BU/BMC researchers with planning and use of IT and informatics to facilitate clinical studies.
B. As Faculty Lead of the CTSI’s Research Networking Effort he leads a Multidisciplinary team that implemented and manages BU-Profiles (a Research Networking application). As the first institutional implementation of Open Research and Collaborator ID (ORCID) Application Program Interface (API) within a Profiles Research Network Software implementation his team received national recognition.
Websites
The Massachusetts Consultation Service for the Treatment of Addiction and Pain (MCSTAP)
Clinical Research Informatics and Technology Consultation (CRITC) Service
Boston Medical Center Provider Profile
Education
MD, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
MPH, Harvard School of Public Health
BA, Rutgers University–Camden
Publications
Colasanti JA, Del Rio C, Cheng DM, Liebschutz JM, Lira MC, Tsui JI, Walley AY, Forman LS, Root C, Shanahan CW, Bridden CL, Harris C, Outlaw K, Armstrong WS, Samet JH. A collaborative care intervention to improve opioid prescribing among providers caring for persons with HIV: Impact on satisfaction, confidence, and trust. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2022 02 01; 231:109250. PMID: 34998255.
Published on 11/18/2021Alford DP, Kim TW, Samet JH, Cruz AB, Brolin MF, Shanahan CW, Saitz R. Prevalence and Correlates of Positive Follow-up Screens in Primary Care for Unhealthy Alcohol and Other Drug Use After a Negative Screen. J Addict Med. 2022 Jul-Aug 01; 16(4):e219-e224. PMID: 34799491.
Published on 10/5/2021Samet JH, Tsui JI, Cheng DM, Liebschutz JM, Lira MC, Walley AY, Colasanti JA, Forman LS, Root C, Shanahan CW, Sullivan MM, Bridden CL, Abrams C, Harris C, Outlaw K, Armstrong WS, Del Rio C. Improving the Delivery of Chronic Opioid Therapy Among People Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 10 05; 73(7):e2052-e2058. PMID: 32697847.
Published on 8/12/2021Shanahan CW, Reding O, Holmdahl I, Keosaian J, Xuan Z, McAneny D, Larochelle M, Liebschutz J. Opioid analgesic use after ambulatory surgery: a descriptive prospective cohort study of factors associated with quantities prescribed and consumed. BMJ Open. 2021 08 12; 11(8):e047928. PMID: 34385249.
Published on 7/27/2020Haas JS, Lemon SC, Freund KM, Battaglia TA. Outside Our Walls: the Case for City-Wide Collaboration to Reduce Disparities. J Gen Intern Med. 2021 01; 36(1):211-213. PMID: 32720235.
Published on 1/16/2020Bart GB, Saxon A, Fiellin DA, McNeely J, Muench JP, Shanahan CW, Huntley K, Gore-Langton RE. Developing a clinical decision support for opioid use disorders: a NIDA center for the clinical trials network working group report. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2020 01 16; 15(1):4. PMID: 31948487.
Published on 4/1/2019Lira MC, Tsui JI, Liebschutz JM, Colasanti J, Root C, Cheng DM, Walley AY, Sullivan M, Shanahan C, O'Connor K, Abrams C, Forman LS, Chaisson C, Bridden C, Podolsky MC, Outlaw K, Harris CE, Armstrong WS, Del Rio C, Samet JH. Study protocol for the targeting effective analgesia in clinics for HIV (TEACH) study - a cluster randomized controlled trial and parallel cohort to increase guideline concordant care for long-term opioid therapy among people living with HIV. HIV Res Clin Pract. 2019 04; 20(2):48-63. PMID: 31303143.
Published on 1/11/2019Tsui JI, Walley AY, Cheng DM, Lira MC, Liebschutz JM, Forman LS, Sullivan MM, Colasanti J, Root C, O'Connor K, Shanahan CW, Bridden CL, Del Rio C, Samet JH. Provider opioid prescribing practices and the belief that opioids keep people living with HIV engaged in care: a cross-sectional study. AIDS Care. 2019 09; 31(9):1140-1144. PMID: 30632790.
Published on 5/1/2018Liebschutz JM, Lange AV, Heymann OD, Lasser KE, Corey P, Shanahan CW, Kopinski HS, Husain JM, Cushman PA, Parker VA. Communication between nurse care managers and patients who take opioids for chronic pain: Strategies for exploring aberrant behavior. J Opioid Manag. 2018 May/Jun; 14(3):191-202. PMID: 30044484.
Published on 9/1/2017Liebschutz JM, Xuan Z, Shanahan CW, LaRochelle M, Keosaian J, Beers D, Guara G, O'Connor K, Alford DP, Parker V, Weiss RD, Samet JH, Crosson J, Cushman PA, Lasser KE. Improving Adherence to Long-term Opioid Therapy Guidelines to Reduce Opioid Misuse in Primary Care: A Cluster-Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2017 Sep 01; 177(9):1265-1272. PMID: 28715535.
Media Mentions
Published on 9/28/2022
DEIA Statements Added to BU Profiles
Published on 9/12/2021
What Does Post-Operative Pain Management Look Like Amid the Opioid Epidemic?
Published on 5/29/2019
Perfecting the Delicate Art of Appropriate Opioid Management
Published on 10/25/2018
"Hey, Charlie" App Supports Those Struggling With Opioids
Published on 8/7/2018
Can a phone app’s warnings to avoid risky friends and places prevent opioid addiction relapses?
View full list of 5 media mentions.