Arkansas/UAMS now able to accept Medicare for liver tx

[Guest guest]

UAMS now able to accept Medicare for liver transplants

Thursday, May 3,

2007 11:53 AM CDT

LITTLE ROCK - The liver

transplant program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is now

eligible for Medicare beneficiaries, the school announced Thursday.

UAMS received its approval for Medicare reimbursement, which was

effective April 24. " Our liver

transplant program has begun and matured with excellent results. Medicare approval is a stamp of national recognition for

which we as an institution can be proud, " said Dr. ,

professor and chairman of the surgery department in the UAMS College of

Medicine. In its first 15 liver

transplants, the UAMS program had a 93 percent survival rate after one year;

the only patient who died was killed in a vehicle accident, the school said. UAMS has performed 52 liver transplants so

far, and there are 15 people on a transplant waiting list.

" The Medicare

endorsement of our transplant program enables us to deliver on one of the goals

behind establishing the program: providing care for Arkansans who otherwise

would have had to go out of state for a liver transplant, " said

Pierson, vice chancellor for clinical programs and executive director of UAMS

Medical Center.

Barb in Texas