Metabolic Support Service

THE METABOLIC SUPPORT SERVICE (MSS) is a multidisciplinary, physician-guided service within the Department of Surgery that provides consultation for patients who require parenteral nutrition, enteral feedings and who have complex nutritional and metabolic disorders. The service works closely with the Department of Nutrition and the Intravenous Pharmacy to establish standards and procedures for formulating, handling and ordering parenteral nutrition solutions. The MSS also performs the following services: insertion of long-term venous access catheters, such as implanted ports and tunneled catheters; placement of tubes for enteral feeding; management of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC) for inpatients and outpatients at the BWH; specialized nutritional testing, such as indirect calorimetry; and provision of adjuvant anabolic agents, specific nutrients, and growth factors in the care of patients with complex gastrointestinal diseases or other conditions. The MSS has an established quality assurance and research program, which ensures adherence to well accepted national standards and actively collects data vital for continual improvement of patient care and validation of MSS practices.