Scott R. Beach, M.D.

Biography

Scott R. Beach, M.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and former Program Director for the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)/McLean Hospital Adult Psychiatry Residency. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Virginia (UVA). He remained at UVA to complete his psychiatry residency before completing a Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship at MGH and pursuing a Dupont-Warren Research Fellowship as part of the MGH Cardiac Psychiatry Research Program (CPRP). Clinically, Dr. Beach has worked as an attending physician in the psychiatric emergency room and on inpatient consultation services since 2011. Areas of clinical expertise include QT prolongation with psychiatric medications, catatonia and related syndromes, neuropsychiatric effects of COVID-19, and patients who deceive providers.

Within the realm of education and administration, he served as Co-Site Director for the HMS Psych 700 Introduction to Psychopathology Course for several years, and was a member of the HMS Admissions Committee from 2012-2017. He also served as Co-Director of the Department’s Grand Rounds Committee from 2015-2018, and has won numerous teaching awards from medical students and residents.

From a research standpoint, Dr. Beach has continued his work with the CPRP, focusing on collaborative care models in patients with heart disease, positive emotions and their predictive value following acute coronary syndromes, and QT prolongation with antidepressants. He is also leading a pilot study investigating neuroimaging and gene expression in patients with catatonia. He has been a co-investigator on grants from the National Institute for Health and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. He is the author of over 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.