About me
Haytham Kaafarani, MD, MPH, FACS, is a Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, the Hospital Medical Director for Quality & Safety and the Trauma Medical Director at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Between 2022 and 2023, Dr. Kaafarani served as the Chief Patient Safety Officer of The Joint Commission. In that role, he was the president’s designee to prioritize patient safety concerns at Joint Commission-accredited health care organizations, provided oversight and medical expertise for the Office of Quality and Patient Safety, and oversaw data management and analysis related to the Sentinel Event Database. His previous roles include Director of the MGH Center for Outcomes & Patient Safety in Surgery (COMPASS) and Director of the MGH Wound Center. Dr. Kaafarani is a recognized authority and speaker with more than 450 published peer-reviewed manuscripts and textbook chapters with a focus on surgical patient safety from intake to discharge, benchmarking quality care, peer support, and the use of artificial intelligence for risk modeling and predicting outcomes. He has won numerous awards, including a nomination to the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the 2024 Robert L. Wears Patient Safety Leadership National Award. Dr. Kaafarani received his Master of Public Health from Harvard University and his doctorate from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. He holds certifications in surgery and surgical critical care from the American Board of Surgery.
