Dr. Peter Laussen, MBBS

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Get to know Anesthesiologist & Critical Care Specialist Dr. Peter Laussen, who serves patients in Boston, Massachusetts.

An adept anesthesiologist & critical care specialist, Dr. Laussen is the Executive Vice President of Health Affairs at Boston Children’s Hospital.

An esteemed leader in hospital care, Dr. Laussen oversees the medical delivery system and helps craft the vision for continued growth in technology and pediatric care. He partners with leadership across the hospital on a full range of research, clinical, academic, operational, and strategic issues, while also caring for patients as an Attending in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

For more than two decades, Dr. Laussen has been a member of the Boston Children’s team. In 2002, he was appointed Chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Clinical Care and the Dolly D. Hansen Chair in Pediatric Anesthesia. 

During his first tenure at Boston Children’s Hospital, he was instrumental in the development of “T3” (Tracking, Trajectory, and Triggering), a web-based early warning system that helps ICU staff assess the patient’s physiologic state at their bedside. He also co-founded “Risky Business,” the groundbreaking series of conferences focusing on risk management, patient safety, and safety awareness.

Pertaining to his educational pursuits, Dr. Laussen obtained his medical degree from the Melbourne University Medical School in Australia, before completing fellowships in both anesthesia and pediatric critical care medicine. 

Following his first years of service at Boston Children’s Hospital, Dr. Laussen joined the Hospital for Sick Kids (SickKids) in Toronto, as Chief of the Department of Critical Care Medicine, where he oversaw one of the preeminent pediatric critical care programs in the world.  He also served as Associate Senior Scientist in Child Health and Evaluative Sciences at the SickKids Research Institute, where he built one of the largest data science programs in pediatric critical care in the world.

In May of 2020, Dr. Laussen returned to Boston Children’s Hospital, taking on his current role as Executive Vice President of Health Affairs. His research and educational focus are centered on cardiac critical care and anesthesia, and he continues to pass on his knowledge and expertise in the field by serving as an Adjunct Professor of Anesthesia at the University of Toronto, and as a full Professor of Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School. 

Holding fellowship status, Dr. Laussen is a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (FANZCA) and a Fellow of the College of Intensive Care Medicine (FCICM).

Anesthesiology is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during, and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, and pain medicine. Anesthesiologists have the primary responsibility of monitoring the patient’s cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal and central nervous systems during surgery. In addition to basic measurements of pulse, blood pressure,respiration and temperature, they often use ultrasound, blood gas analysis, and invasive monitoring to maintain patients’ well-being during surgery.

Intensive care medicine, also called critical care medicine, is a medical specialty that deals with seriously or critically ill patients who have, are at risk of, or are recovering from conditions that may be life-threatening. A critical care specialist is a medical specialist trained and assessed to be proficient in the comprehensive clinical management of critically ill patients as the leader of a multidisciplinary team.

Throughout his career, Dr. Laussen has achieved significant success in recruitment strategies for new faculty, reduction of Serious Safety Events, development of a sustainable research structure, and growth of world-renowned training programs.

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