Organ Transplant Programs Are Not Created Equal

Bob Carroll

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Does it matter where you go for your organ transplant? You bet it does!

CMS Notifies Four Transplant Programs Of Potential Funding Loss

CMS has notified four additional heart transplant programs that they might lose Medicare funding because they failed to meet minimum agency standards for the number of procedures performed annually, the Los Angeles Times reports (Weber/Ornstein, Los Angeles Times, 2/1).

In June 2006, the Times reported that an investigation found 20% of the 236 federally funded heart, liver and lung transplant programs do not meet minimum CMS standards for the number of procedures performed and survival rates. Nine lung transplant programs and 36 heart transplant programs did not meet CMS standards, and those programs accounted for 71 more deaths within one year than expected under normal conditions, based on a government analysis of survival rates.

I am not sure what normal conditions means in transplant circles, but 71 deaths greater than normal seems a bit much.

Does it matter where you go for your organ transplant? You bet it does!

CMS Notifies Four Transplant Programs Of Potential Funding Loss

CMS has notified four additional heart transplant programs that they might lose Medicare funding because they failed to meet minimum agency standards for the number of procedures performed annually, the Los Angeles Times reports (Weber/Ornstein, Los Angeles Times, 2/1).

In June 2006, the Times reported that an investigation found 20% of the 236 federally funded heart, liver and lung transplant programs do not meet minimum CMS standards for the number of procedures performed and survival rates. Nine lung transplant programs and 36 heart transplant programs did not meet CMS standards, and those programs accounted for 71 more deaths within one year than expected under normal conditions, based on a government analysis of survival rates.

I am not sure what normal conditions means in transplant circles, but 71 deaths greater than normal seems a bit much.