No Deficiencies Found in Thomas Jefferson Liver Transplant Program

Inspectors from the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported finding no violations of state or federal regulations in an unannounced review last month of the liver-transplant program at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

The two-day inspection, aimed at evaluating the quality of care and compliance with state and federal regulations, was prompted by a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer about deaths during or immediately after liver transplants at Jefferson.

During a 20-month period between October 2001 and last month, eight of 52 liver-transplant patients at Jefferson died in the operating room and a ninth died within hours of surgery -- a death rate during or immediately after surgery of about 17 percent (see earlier Transplant Week story).

"We went in and looked within our regulatory authority, and we did not find any deficiencies," said Nancy O'Connor, deputy regional administrator in Philadelphia for the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Phyllis Fisher, hospital spokeswoman, said Jefferson officials were pleased with the survey results. "The Department of Health and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have found that we are in compliance with their regulations and that we meet stringent standards for quality and performance improvement," she said.

Other Sources: Philadelphia Inquirer, DHHS