Samin K. Sharma

Samin K. Sharma is a U.S. interventional cardiologist holding the American record for the highest number of complex coronary interventions performed annually, along with the highest angioplasty success rate in New York State.[1] His other procedural specialties include the catheter-based treatment of mitral and aortic stenosis (balloon valvuloplasty).

Education

Sharma received his undergraduate degree from Maharaja College in 1972 and his medical degree from SMS Medical College in 1978. He is a graduate of Rajgarh Higher Secondary School in Alwar in Rajasthan state. In 1983, he came to New York to undergo residency in internal medicine at the NY Infirmary-Beekman Downtown Hospital (1983-1986), fellowship in cardiology at Elmhurst Hospital (1986-1988), and interventional training at Mount Sinai Hospital (1988-1990).

Cardiologist

Sharma joined the teaching faculty of Mount Sinai Hospital in 1990. He is currently the Director of Interventional Cardiology and Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory (since 1996), and Co-Director of the Cardiovascular Institute (2004), and is the Zena and Michael A. Wiener Professor of Medicine, Cardiology (2002). He has authored over 130 articles, 300 abstracts, 12 book chapters and two books to his credit. He has served on the Cardiac Advisory Board of the New York State since 2004 for coronary interventions that advises the health department and the Governor on issues of health policies and supervision, safety and appropriateness of the heart care by various hospitals in New York. Sharma received the Governor’s Award of Excellence (2006), for his outstanding contribution to medicine.

Under Sharma's direction, The Live Symposium of Complex Coronary & Vascular Cases, started in 1998, and has had over 500 delegates each year. In July 2009, Sharma launched a monthly live web series. The program focuses on helping the audience understand the complexity of interventional technique (in management of complex coronary artery disease). Sharma partnered with Medscape/TheHeart.org in September 2010, to enhance this live webcast globally and widen his audience and is now attended by >5000 registrants per webcast from 100 countries globally.

Sharma performs over 1500 complex coronary interventions annually (the highest in the country) while achieving an extremely low complication rate. According to New York State Department of Health reports (1994-2002, 2006-2008), he has the highest angioplasty success rate (lowest mortality <0.2%) for an interventional cardiologist in NY state since 1994,receiving prestigious **Star designation (statistically significantly lower than expected mortality). Under Sharma’s leadership, Mount Sinai Hospital has become one of the best and busiest centers in New York, providing excellent care for all types of simple and complex high-risk heart patients. In 2010, Dr. Sharma's salary was $3,410,688. according to the tax filing of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. In addition to coronary interventions, Sharma specializes in the non-surgical treatment of mitral and aortic stenosis and percutaneous aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

Controversy

Sharma's division at Mount Sinai came under scrutiny in 2014 when Bloomberg News reported that patients were being coached to report acute cardiac symptoms to the emergency department, so that regularly scheduled procedures would be covered by Medicaid.[2] Andy S. Jagoda, the director of emergency medicine at Mount Sinai, was reported as having acknowledged knowing of the practice for over two years.[3]

Awards and recognition


See also

References

  1. ↑ Earth Times - Mount Sinai and Dr. Samin K. Sharma lauded as 'best center' in New York State for angioplasty retrieved April 28, 2008
  2. ↑ David Armstrong, Peter Waldman, Gary Putka, "In New York, a Heart Surgery Factory With 'Obscene Levels' of Pay," Bloomberg News, 6 Mar 2014.
  3. ↑ David Armstrong, Peter Waldman, Gary Putka, "In New York, a Heart Surgery Factory With 'Obscene Levels' of Pay," Bloomberg News, 6 Mar 2014.
  4. ↑ Mount Sinai Medical Center - Dr. Samin K. Sharma retrieved April 28, 2008
  5. ↑ Mount Sinai News - Governor Pataki Honors Samin K. Sharma, M.D., of Mount Sinai Heart with the 2006 Award of Excellence retrieved April 28, 2008
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Earth Times - A World in Challenge retrieved April 28, 2008

External links