A closer look at Mass General Brigham's metrics

Hospital system's efforts to save lives should be lauded, not picked apart

Re "MGB insists it's saving more lives: But skeptical doctors point to shift in how patients are coded" (Page A1, May 24): I was gravely disappointed by Jessica Bartlett's front-page article questioning Mass General Brigham's efforts to save lives.

As a senior primary care physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital, I watched, as I made my morning rounds, as the Brigham's concerted efforts to address sepsis -- the leading cause of death in hospitals -- became part of hospital routine. This was a command performance in staff education and training and yielded dramatic results.

I also watched as patients, some under my care, and some of my own family and closest friends, each of whom clearly had nothing more to gain from costly and futile efforts at life-saving care, were mercifully allowed to transition to hospice care before discharge home.

Bartlett quotes doctors who spoke to her on condition of anonymity who say that allowing patients to have access to hospice care while in hospital appears to be an attempt to distort death results rather than an act of mercy. I find this to be a shameful attempt to sully the work of a dedicated health care institution.

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Dr. Martin P Solomon

Mashpee

We all benefit from transparent accounting for health care outcomes

Thank you for this important piece of reporting by Jessica Bartlett. We all benefit from clear, transparent accounting for health care outcomes. The article attempts to provide balance, as did the anonymously quoted Mass General Brigham medical professionals who question the hospital system's claims of a significant improvement in mortality rates.

Whatever the case, I would emphasize that the improvements aren't numbers -- they represent loved ones who are still with us.

Michael Guerin

Gloucester

Yet another reminder to make end-of-life plans

Mass General Brigham is trumpeting the wrong message. Yes, preventing and treating infections is important. No, shifting patients to hospice does not reduce mortality, but it does prioritize the use of clinical resources more realistically, which is worth mentioning.

A 2017 study found that only about one-third of Americans had end-of-life directives. Without such documentation, hospitals are obliged to run codes, such as CPR and other responses, on patients such as the elderly and terminal cancer patients. It's a gruesome process.