Dr. Christopher Cannell is a doctoral-trained Physician Associate with over 22 years of multidisciplinary clinical experience in Emergency Medicine (CAQ-EM), Orthopedics, Critical Care, and Internal Medicine. He is nationally recognized for his leadership and expertise in healthcare quality, patient safety, and risk mitigation.  He is a frequent invited speaker on Provider Clinical Risk Management and a blogger for medical liability companies on these critical topics.

Dr. Cannell is a successful entrepreneur leading a six-figure consulting firm where he also trains and encourages other healthcare provider entrepreneurs to explore their passions, niches, and grow their own business.

Dr. Cannell has held key leadership positions including current President of PAs in Legal Medicine, Board of Directors for the Academy of Doctoral PAs and previously with Massachusetts Association of PAs, and Board Advisor for the SCUHS Doctor of Medical Science program. He has led clinical teams as an APC Director, Department Lead, healthcare system, program manager and thought leader and Chair of APC career letter committee, driving innovation in quality improvement, documentation, onboarding, population management, operations, and value-based care initiatives across health systems.  Created POCUS acute care program for PAs and NPs at the largest community hospital in Massachusetts in alignment with the department ultrasound director. 

Dr. Cannell is an experienced medical professional legal consultant (MPLC) and expert witness, certified through Auburn University and The Center for Legal Studies. He has over 8 years of experience providing expert witness and consulting services focused on clinical risk assessment, discovery, and standard of care.  His collaborative consulting work spans clinicians, legal teams, malpractice insurance consultants, executives, AI technology, and life sciences organizations.

A dedicated educator and mentor, Dr. Cannell serves as Assistant Professor Doctor of Medical Science Program at The University of Lynchburg, current adjunct faculty for the Doctor of Medical Science Program at Marshall B. Ketchum University and also previously with South College (Healthcare Law & Policy), and currently for Northeastern University School of Medical Sciences PA Program, and the Tufts School of Medicine PA Program. He is a subject matter expert in generative AI development, educational consulting for early career and transitional career NPs and PA’s, and interprofessional collaboration to advance the Quadruple Aim.

Dr. Cannell completed leadership training in Just Culture, High Reliability, as well as patient safety through the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). He earned his DMSc from the University of Lynchburg, MPAS from MCPHS–Boston, and BA in Pre-Medical Studies and Psychology from Muhlenberg College. He has done additional leadership training from AAPA from The Center for Healthcare Leadership and Management.

I enjoy taking care of my patients and including their families and the entire treatment team in the process. 

My career started in the US Army and it was a privilege to serve and care for women in the military and their family members while training at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and then stationed overseas in Germany for 4 years. I returned to the South Shore area since this is home and have been been fortunate to raise my family and to practice here since 2002. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to care for the women in our community. Although I transitioned to a more administrative role, I continue to practice obstetrics and gynecology here in the hospital and will continue to strive to offer the best care to patients through open communication and strong relationships.

I aim to improve patient’s lung health and help patients and families through critical illnesses.

I work to provide excellent care in the acute and outpatient settings, in close collaboration with other specialists and staff. I am passionate about helping everyone reach their individual health goals.

My mission is to create a positive healthcare experience for patients and their families.

It is a privilege to build long-term relationships with my patients and their families and to be able to care for them through all stages of childhood, especially when they’re not feeling well.  I believe that it’s important for children to receive care in an environment where they feel comfortable.  In my free time, I like to read, go to the beach and spend time with family.

I really enjoy working with the pediatric population. Kids are so energetic, willing to learn and eager to challenge themselves. The beauty of pediatric primary care is that one day is never the same, every child is so unique. There is always new knowledge to gain. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family, running, swimming, and vacationing on Cape Cod. 

I believe that the relationship between patient and doctor should always be collaborative; it is the providers role to imbue knowledge and guidance, but concomitantly, give the patient agency in a combined decision-making process.

I believe wholly in health equity and the belief that we all deserve a fair and equal chance at leading a healthy life - a chance that should be unfettered by socioeconomic status, culture or creed. I believe that the treatment of an individual should be holistic in approach and because of this, I tend to build deep and lasting relationships with my patients. Even the highest medical acumen is deemed useless without rapport and essential communication with the patient. Having the opportunity to live in many different areas of the world has exposed me to different demographics, cultural settings and clinical maladies. Because of this, I think I am able to provide a unique scope of medicine that can better serve my patients. I have worked in both urban and suburban settings - providing health care to some of our communities most underserved - and I have also provided medical support in the international setting. Prior to medicine, I worked in academic research as a virologist studying Ebola virus. My time doing science research helped further cultivate my love and understanding for disease processes from a fundamental and physiological standpoint, allowing me to better understand and identify treatment modalities in the clinical setting. I originally hail from New York but I have been many places since. I have a vast sneaker collection that only out preforms my record collection, I love riding my bike and I am almost a blue belt In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I travel as much as possible, cook whenever I can, and I love staying active with surfing, snowboarding, and running. Occasionally, I even read book here and there, and I love my two cats Roger and Tio.

As a primary care clinician, I have the opportunity to develop a trusting partnership with my patients and their families to help them live a healthy lifestyle. I enjoy diagnosing and treating the various illnesses that affect patients during their lifetime, and take great pleasure in seeing them recover. It is important for me to listen carefully to my patients' concerns so we can work together to meet their individual healthcare needs.  

In my free time, I enjoy swimming, running, cycling, and skiing, in addition to spending time with my husband, adult children, and our new granddaughter.

I have been a vascular surgeon for more than 25 years since completing my training at the then Deaconess Hospital in Boston. A native New Englander, I returned to my home state to practice, and was Chief of Vascular Surgery at Brown/Rhode Island Hospital until I left to join the team at Brigham Vascular Surgery in October 2016. Having led an academic department for many years, I sought to bring that level of experience with state-of-the-art vascular care to the community hospital setting and was recruited specifically to lead the division at South Shore Hospital. Since my arrival, South Shore Health has supported this vision for vascular care, opening a new Endovascular OR Suite for complex aneurysm repair; developing a multidisciplinary limb preservation team together with Podiatry, Plastic Surgery, and the Wound Care Center; and organizing community outreach and education events to allow for screening and prevention of vascular disease.

In my occasional free time, I am an avid boater and the South Shore has proven to be the perfect environment for me to pursue my other passion!

I am a Cum Laude graduate of Tufts University, and I earned my medical degree at the Tufts University School of Medicine. I completed my surgical residency at New York Medical College, and my urological residency at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, NY. I came to South Shore Urology on completion of his residency. I am certified with the American Board of Urology and I am passionate about providing high quality patient care in a compassionate environment.