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| MGH AUTOPSY SERVICE 1. The Autopsy Service operated Monday through Saturday. Cases can be done on Sunday as emergencies. Exceptions can be made for either medical or family reasons. Autopsies are usually begun between 9 A.M. and 2 P.M.. Questions about permission for autopsy, restrictions to autopsy, reporting of cases to the Medical Examiner, concerns of the family, and other inquires can be addressed to the Chief Diener (Mr. James Taralli, 617-726-2976) or to me. Permission to perform an autopsy resides with the next of kin, who is defined on the Report of Death. 2. Cases reportable to the Medical Examiner are listed on the Report of Death. Reporting is generally done by the attending physician, who is the person best able to make the determination as to whether the case should be reported. The phone number of the Medical Examiner is 617-267-6767. If the medical Examiner accepts jurisdiction, that office may or may not perform an autopsy. If the Medical Examiner assumes jurisdiction and the case is of medical interest to physicians in this hospital and the case is not a homicide or suicide, the Medial Examiner’s office may elect to have an autopsy performed at this hospital if a deputized medical examiner is available. 3. If a patient of this hospital dies at home, the autopsy may be equally valuable and can be arranged. Any deceased patient with an MGH unit number is eligible for autopsy examination at no charge to the family. There is a charge to the family for an autopsy on any deceased patient without an MGH unit number. 4. When seeking permission for an autopsy, one should remember that information potentially important to the family may be discovered. Discovery (or absence) of genetic, infectious, or occupational diseases may be of great value to the family at a later time, even though emotional considerations may deter permission for autopsy around the time of death. 5. Approximately one-third of autopsies performed at this hospital during the past year disclosed previously unsuspected or unquantitated findings that might have been important to either current or future management of the patient or benefit to the family. Benefits to the attending physician and to the scientific community are added to this. 6. If the family of a patient is reluctant to agree to a complete autopsy, the physician should remember that a great variety of limitations can be applied, including examining selected organs or needle biopsies only. 7. Provisional anatomic diagnoses, based on macroscopic and selected microscopic examination, are e-mailed or faxed to the attending physician, to the physician requesting the autopsy, to the physician who has completed the Certificate of Death, and to other physicians involved in the case of the patient within 48 hours. Verbal reports are available earlier. 8. Final reports are generally available within four weeks or less. Autopsy reports become part of the patient’s medical record in both written and electronic form. 9. Physicians are always welcome to the weekly Autopsy Conference, which is held every Friday at 12:30 in the Autopsy Conference Room, Warren Basement. Review of an individual case is done at any time of convenience to the clinical staff. 10. The autopsy staff are more than happy to examine the histological slides with the attending physicians at the time that the case is signed out. Please let the staff know when you would be available, and we will accommodate your schedule. 11. The autopsy has virtually disappeared in many hospitals throughout the country, for a variety of reasons. Some hospitals now charge the family, refuse to due cases, or have closed their morgue. The MGH continues to support the Autopsy Service. As a medical test that is not readily available in large parts of the country and that may not predictably be available in the future, the autopsy should be viewed as a learning opportunity for the benefit of both physicians and families of deceased patients of the MGH. 12. Research on tissues from autopsy are dependent on a commitment to obtain autopsies from the entire hospital community. 13. Please contact Dr. Eugene J. Mark, Director of the Autopsy Service, 617-726-8891 or Mr. James Taralli, Chief Autopsy Technician, 617-726-2976 for suggestions, complaints or concerns. Eugene J. Mark, M.D. |
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