Suma Thomas, MD

Dr. Suma A. Thomas, M.D., M.B.A., F.A.C.C., is a non-invasive cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic; Robert and Suzanne Tomsich Department of Cardiovascular Medicine; Arnold and Sydell Miller Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute. In addition to her clinical responsibilities, Dr. Thomas is the Vice-Chairman of Operations and Strategy, Cleveland Clinic Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute.

Previous to her tenure at Cleveland Clinic, she worked for 8 years at Lahey Clinic, a multispecialty group in Burlington, MA. She was an Assistant Professor at Tufts University while working at Lahey Clinic. While working as a cardiologist at Lahey Clinic she served on the Board of the Lahey Clinic Accountable Care Organization. She also served as the primary cardiology consultant to the liver and renal transplantation teams, was the chairman of the code committee for 6 years, and served on the Lahey Clinic peer review committee. Dr. Thomas worked on many quality initiatives including establishing standards for perioperative cardiovascular evaluation of renal and liver transplantation patients, and improving code blue team response and efficiency.

She worked as an attending cardiologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine from 2000-2003 and was an Assistant Professor at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Thomas attended medical school at the University of Iowa School of Medicine and received her fellowship training in cardiovascular medicine at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine. She did an additional year of echocardiography training at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA.

Dr. Thomas worked at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) between 2004-2005 and gained experience working on cardiovascular quality and advocacy initiatives working closely with insurance companies, registries, accreditation organizations, and legislators. Dr. Thomas serves on several ACC committees including the ACC Advocacy Committee, the ACC Political Action Committee Board (ACCPAC), the ACC F Expert Consensus Document on Patient Radiation Safety Writing Committee, and the ACC Partners in Quality Subcommittee. She is also active in the American Medical Association (AMA) and serves as one of four delegates representing the ACC in the AMA. She completed a Masters in Business Administration at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in June 2013.

Dr. Thomas' interests include quality improvement and assurance, payment innovation, and cost effectiveness in clinical care.