Five McLean Clinicians Named to Boston Magazine’s Top Doctors List

Boston magazine has named five McLean Hospital clinicians to its Top Doctors list for 2020. Honorees were selected through the publication’s annual survey of doctors in the Boston area. The list includes experts in fields such as dermatology, cardiology, orthopedics, pediatrics, and psychiatry.

McLean’s top doctors on the list are:

• Brian P. Brennan, MD, MMSc
• Esther Dechant, MD
• Bruce H. Price, MD
• Ipsit Vahia, MD
• Roger D. Weiss, MD

To compile the list, Boston magazine works with the health care research firm Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. Physicians nominate their peers for inclusion on the list. Each year, the firm receives some 100,000 submissions.

Castle Connolly evaluates each nominee’s educational and professional experience. They also contact specialists, clinicians, and administrators for additional information on each candidate. Based on the results, Castle Connolly publishes regional guides of top doctors. Consumers use these guides to find and evaluate leading clinicians in their area.

Here’s a look at the McLean clinicians who made Boston magazine’s Top Doctors list.

Brian P. Brennan, MD, MMSc

Brennan is the associate director of translational neuroscience research in the Biological Psychiatry Laboratory at McLean and an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is also the medical director of the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Institute at McLean Hospital, a widely acclaimed intensive residential treatment facility for patients with severe OCD and related disorders.

“Being named a Boston magazine Top Doc is meaningful to me personally because it is a reflection of how my colleagues view the quality of care I aim to provide my patients,” Brennan said. “On an institutional level, every year McLean is well represented on this list, providing yet another indication of the respect we engender in the community.”

Esther Dechant, MD

A specialist in child, adolescent, and adult psychotherapy, as well as child and adolescent medication evaluation and management, Dechant is the medical director for the Klarman Eating Disorders Center at McLean. She also holds an appointment as an assistant professor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

On being named to the list, Dechant stated, “I am greatly honored by the award. It encourages me in our mission to provide exceptional clinical care.”

Bruce H. Price, MD

A leader in the integration of neurology, psychiatry, neurosurgery, and neuropsychology, Price has authored more than 100 original articles, critical reviews, commentaries, and textbook chapters. He has also been the recipient of numerous federal, pharmaceutical, and foundation grants.

He is an associate in neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School. Price was appointed chief of the Department of Neurology at McLean Hospital in 1994.

Ipsit Vahia, MD

A geriatric psychiatrist, Vahia is the medical director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Outpatient Services at McLean Hospital and the McLean Institute for Technology in Psychiatry. In addition to his clinical work, he is a researcher who focuses on using technology and informatics to better assess and manage older adults with mental illness.

“This recognition emphasizes the importance of geriatric psychiatry as a distinct specialty, and it will spur on our efforts to provide highly innovative, cutting-edge care for the population we serve at McLean,” said Vahia. “It only reinforces my commitment to the care of older adults with mental health needs.”

Roger D. Weiss, MD

Throughout his career as a clinician and researcher, Weiss has focused on patients with substance use disorders. His work includes the development of integrated group therapy, an evidence-based treatment for co-occurring bipolar and substance use disorders, and serving as lead on a multisite treatment study of prescription opioid dependence. Weiss is the recipient of several awards, including the Jack H. Mendelson Research Award from McLean Hospital (2012) and the Dan Anderson Research Award from the Hazelden Foundation (2012).

“I am quite honored to be included on the Top Doctors list. I am also so pleased because I think it reflects other physicians’ positive view of the McLean Division of Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction,” Weiss said. “So, I see this honor as an honor for our entire staff, not just for myself.”