MGHHOTLINEA PUBLICATION FOR EMPLOYEES AND STAFF OF THE MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL0

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MGH launches Clinical Data Science CenterImagIne there was a way to call upon the shared intelligence, expertise and experience of hundreds of radiologists when reviewing a patient scan. This could be a reality in the near future thanks to the formation of the new MGH Clinical Data Science Center, which is paving the way for a new approach to diagnosing and treating disease using cognitive computational algorithms such as machine learning and artificial neural networks.

“We are in the process of training algorithms to ‘see’ patient data – or look deeper into the patient’s medical information – in a way that we as humans can’t appreciate visually,” says radiologist Keith Dreyer, DO, PhD, vice chairman of Radiology Computer and Information Sciences. “Only recently has computer software and hardware been advanced enough to have the power to perform (Continued on page 4)

partners ecare is here: The final wave of Partners eCare at the MGH – the initiative to implement the Epic electronic medical record system – was launched at 5:08 am on April 2. This was a hospitalwide effort that required the support and dedication of the entire MGH community. Here are some of the many people who helped make this milestone possible. For a full slideshow of images, visit the MGH YouTube page.

An Epicmilestone

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Volunteers make a world of differencethe mgh Volunteer Department will host its annual Volunteer Recognition during the week of April 10-16 to honor its volunteers. National Volunteer Week – sponsored by Points of Light, the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service – is about inspiring, recognizing and encouraging people to seek out imaginative ways to engage in their communities.

Volunteerism is very strong at the hospital, where many dedicated volunteers devote many hours each week to serve the hospital. The MGH has more than 1,400 volunteers on an annual basis and approximately 800 to 1,000 volunteers during any given week. Combined, they provide the hospital with more than 100,000 hours of service annually.

“Each day I have the opportunity to see remarkable, wonderful, incredible, dedicated, assiduous, committed volunteers serving the patients at MGH. I am so proud to be part of the MGH volunteer team,” says Jackie Nolan, director of the Volunteer Department and Information Associates. “We owe a great debt of gratitude to all the volunteers for their dedication and service to the hospital. They are a true example of the power of generosity and kindness.”   

The MGH began as a volunteer operation – John Collins Warren, James Jackson, and their many successors of the 19th century were volunteers, as were the trustees. As early as 1821, a Men’s Visiting Committee began visiting wards on a rotating basis to observe and help out where possible. And in 1869, as the need grew for female volunteer visitors, the Ladies Visiting Committee (LVC) was formed, which continues to be a vibrant presence at the MGH today.

“Spending time with any of our volunteers will reveal how much they truly enjoy helping our patients,” says Milton Calderon, volunteer coordinator. “If you see one of our volunteers in the pink jackets, please feel free to congratulate them during this very special week.” n

Are you really allergic?one mornIng in late March, 26-year-old Claire Branman learned that sometimes mothers don’t always know best. This realization came after she visited the allergy testing room on the second floor of Cox – an area of the MGH where patients can walk in with a medical question and walk out about three hours later with a definitive answer.

Branman is one of millions of Americans who have at one point incorrectly told their doctors they suffer from a penicillin allergy. “I started saying it as a little kid because my mom told me as a baby I had a reaction,” says Branman.

During her recent appointment at the MGH, however, Branman received skin testing and an oral challenge showing she was not allergic to penicillin – and similar drugs called cephalosporins. It is information Branman says would have been useful a few years ago when, without penicillin, she developed a difficult-to-treat bacterial infection.

“Ten to 15 percent of the U.S. population think they are allergic to penicillin. But, in actuality, less than 1 percent are truly allergic,” says Aleena Banerji, MD, director of the MGH Drug Allergy Program. “Replacement treatments can sometimes be more expensive, less effective and have serious side effects.” Banerji and her

colleagues now are offering expanded urgent drug allergy appointments at the MGH – delving not only into cases of penicillin allergies – but other cases like chemotherapy reactions and concerns surrounding surgery preparations.

Banerji and MGH allergist Kim Blumenthal, MD, also hope to spread the word about a web-based app developed by Blumenthal – offering clinicians the ability to ask more probing allergy questions of their patients. Now available at all Partners hospitals, “it puts allergy specialist knowledge in the palm of your hand,” says Blumenthal. As a result, doctors may in turn choose to refer more patients like Branman to the MGH for those definitive allergy answers.

a FaMiLy OF VOLUnteers: From left, Adam Castiglioni, Jane Castiglioni and David Castiglioni with Peter L. Slavin, MD, MGH president 

mgh Volunteers are assigned to different roles throughout the hospital, filling important roles in many different departments. Some areas where volunteers can be found throughout the MGH are:

• The book cart, where volunteers bring books and magazines to patients’ rooms, in addition to providing friendly visits

• The Cancer Center on Yawkey 7, 9 and 10, where volunteers serve lunch to patients in a busy outpatient clinic waiting room area for oncology patients and their family members

• The Volunteer Office, where volunteers provide administrative support

• Patient escort, where volunteers work as part of a team (171 shifts and 190 volunteers) and strive to provide a higher level of customer service as they help patients, family members and visitors navigate MGH

• Pet therapy, where volunteers provide patients with the opportunity to receive a visit in their hospital room from a volunteer handler and their dog

• The Gray Family Waiting Area, where a caring team of volunteers provide comfort to families of patients undergoing surgery

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MGHHOTLINEJonathan wooDson, mD, assistant secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, returned to his early medical roots during a stop at the MGH on April 1. Woodson was the guest of the Consortia for Improving Medicine with Innovation and Technology (CIMIT). During a special presentation in the Trustees Room, he learned about several innovative research and technological advances made by just a few of the teams that CIMIT supports.

In his welcoming remarks, David F. Torchiana, MD, Partners

HealthCare president and CEO, said he vividly remembered being a medical student and watching as Woodson, then an MGH resident, placed an arterial line – marking the first time he saw the procedure. Woodson received his postgraduate medical education at the MGH.

During the 90-minute session, Woodson heard from five teams from across CIMIT’s network. A nonprofit consortium of Boston’s leading teaching hospitals and universities, CIMIT concentrates on innovative

projects, with a long-standing commitment to advance dual-use innovation to improve the health of military service members and civilians.

Two MGH physicians spoke during the event. N. Stuart Harris, MD, chief of the MGH Division of Wilderness Medicine, shared novel imaging techniques for field deployment at high altitude to diagnose potentially fatal lung disease that can develop in young, otherwise healthy military service memers. Trauma surgeon David King, MD, showcased his work creating a percutaneous, self-expanding foam that can temporize internal bleeding to prevent unnecessary deaths on the battlefield.

“We were honored to have Dr. Woodson hear from some of the teams from across CIMIT’s network working on exciting projects and provide them with instructive feedback,” said John Parrish, CEO of CIMIT. “We have the great privilege and opportunity to leverage the strengths of Boston’s health care ecosystem to advance dual-use innovations to improve the health of our nation’s service members.” n

on march 31, MassGeneral Hospital for Children celebrated the 16th annual Aspire Spring Gala, raising more than $2.6 million to support Aspire, which equips children, teens and adults with high cognitive autism spectrum disorder with the knowledge and skills to lead successful and fulfilling lives.

While Boston’s Zakim Bridge shone in blue to commemorate the event and promote autism awareness, more than 800 guests enjoyed the Rafanelli Events-designed cocktail reception at the Four Seasons Hotel Boston. The Berkshire Hills Music Academy Performance Troupe provided music.

This year’s gala highlighted Aspire programs that provide young people on the autism spectrum with the tools to form lasting and meaningful relationships. This included the Internship Program, which places participants at Boston-based businesses to gain on-the-job skills.

Four Aspire participants acted as emcees and introduced the evening’s speakers, which included event co-chairs David Long, chairman and CEO of Liberty Mutual Insurance, and Tim Sweeney, president of Personal Insurance

at Liberty Mutual. Also speaking were Jake Peters, a former Aspire intern and current Enterprise Rent-A-Car employee, and Brett Mulder, PsyD, program manager for Teen and Adult Services at Aspire.

“The gala itself is always a big moment for Aspire,” said Scott McLeod, PhD, Aspire’s

executive director. “But this big moment is a celebration of thousands of little moments. Those moments when we see a smile. A nod. A look of recognition, a connection that’s made, a relationship that’s started. These are the small victories that collectively form the true essence and the true meaning of Aspire.”

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs visits MGH

Aspire Gala raises $2.6 million

sWeet sUccess: From left, Leslie O’Brien, internship program manager; McLeod; intern emcees Peters, Henry Marks, Dan Peters, Jesse Mulkey, Emily Schulman, Will Henry; and Mulder

innOVatiVe iMprOVeMents: Woodson, left, listens as Harris presents.

editor: Colleen Delaney • 617-726-0275 • assistant editor: Colleen Keilty • 617-724-2753

email: Hotline@partners.org • mail: Public Affairs Office • 125 Nashua Street, Suite 220 • Boston, MA 02114

MGH Hotline is printed on recycled paper and published weekly by the MGH Public Affairs Office.

MGHHOTLINE04.08.16

— Clinical Data Science Center(Continued from page 1)

Running for more miraclesFor the thIrD consecutIVe year, Jeanne MacDonald, MD, of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, will take to the Boston Marathon course April 18 to benefit MassGeneral Hospital for Children’s Palliative Care Service.

“The Pediatric Palliative Care team provides a vital service to our NICU’s most fragile babies and their families,” says MacDonald. “Caring for these patients is difficult work, but with the support of our palliative team and wonderful colleagues, it is meaningful and oftentimes inspiring. I don’t run for any one patient but rather for all of our babies – especially babies who never get to go home.”

This will be MacDonald’s 16th Boston Marathon, and her fourth running as part of the Miles for Mass General program, which allows runners to dedicate their qualified bib number to a specific hospital program that is close to their hearts – including pediatric palliative care, cystic fibrosis, the MGH Cancer Center, the Lurie Center for Autism and Huntington’s disease research at the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease.    

MacDonald says, “Last year, the father of very ill baby told us, ‘if a miracle needs to go to someone else, I will understand.’ When I think of the courage and generosity of those words, I am inspired to run to give our families the kind of compassionate care that the Pediatric Palliative Care service helps us make possible for all our families.” n

This story is part of a series that MGH Hotline will publish in advance of the 2016 marathon featuring the teams “Fighting Kids’ Cancer ... One Step at a Time,” which raises funds for MassGeneral Hospital for Children research efforts, and the “Ready When Seconds Count,” which supports emergency preparedness and disaster training. In addition, 19 individuals will run and fundraise for the Miles for Mass General program.

“�The�Pediatric�Palliative�Care�team�provides�a�vital�service�to�our�NICU’s�most�fragile�babies�and�their�families.�Caring�for�these�patients�is�difficult�work,�but�with�the�support�of�our�palliative�team�and�wonderful�colleagues,�it�is�meaningful�and�often�times,�inspiring.�I�don’t�run�for�any�one�patient�but�rather�for�all�of�our�babies�–�especially�babies�who�never�get�to�go�home.”

computations that rival the human brain’s neural network. These computations are what Google, Facebook, Amazon and others have used to optimize algorithms for intelligently searching massive amounts of data.”

Dreyer says training a machine algorithm is similar to teaching a child in that it requires considerable repetition. For example, by training an artificial neural network with thousands of images of correctly and incorrectly placed central lines, these algorithms can “learn” the difference between the two. While the human

brain is optimized for the interpretation of visual data, these cognitive computations can be optimized to quantify nearly any data while eliminating the judgment and fatigue of humans.

“It is hoped that, beyond improved medical imaging precision, this approach may optimize the entire care process including other diagnostic tests, treatment regimes, clinical care pathways and overall population health,” Dreyer says.

The Clinical Data Science Center now is in the early stages of forging relationships with IT professionals and industry experts to more

fully understand and advance the cognitive frameworks to optimize them for the health care domain. He says they hope to ultimately use the more than 2 billion images and vast clinical data stored at the hospital.

“We are excited about the prospects that this center will have on patient care – both for radiology, as well as other fields in the future,” says James Brink, MD, chief of the Department of Radiology.

“This center truly is the next step in providing the best care to our patients – from the first diagnosis to the final treatment.”

MacDOnaLD