Karl-Heinz Spittler, MD

Senior Vice President and Chief Physician Executive of Northern Light Health

Karl-Heinz Spittler, M.D., MBA, is chief physician executive and senior vice president of Northern Light Health. 

Always asking “But what about the patient?”, Dr. Spittler excels in solving real-world issues of healthcare delivery with transformative vision and operational expertise, while always trying to improve quality, value, and the work-life balance of the healthcare team. 

Dr. Spittler joined Northern Light Health in 2003 as a physician anesthesiologist and he served as Chief of Anesthesia at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine, from 2013 until 2020.

Dr. Spittler earned his medical degree in Germany and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Freiburg in Germany. He did part of his post-graduate medical education in anesthesiology at the University hospital in Freiburg, Germany, followed by an anesthesiology residency at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and a pain management fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Dr. Spittler also holds an MBA from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts.

He is board-certified in both anesthesiology and pain management, and he continues to practice clinically on a regular basis.

Dr. Spittler and his family are ardent, longtime supporters of multiple local and (inter)national charities, including United Way, Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine, and Doctors without Borders.  

He was promoted to chief physician executive in January 2022.