OHSU President Danny Jacobs, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.S., today announced that OHSU will commission an independent peer review of our multidisciplinary Heart Transplant Program.

“As president of the state’s only academic health center, it is my responsibility to ensure all Oregonians have access to the best possible care in a supportive environment,” said Jacobs. “Building on the Heart Transplant Program’s history and legacy, this review will help inform our ongoing efforts to ensure the program is sustainable for the long term.“

The peer review is a process often employed in the medical profession to allow members of the health care team to provide their opinions and describe their experiences while maintaining confidentiality. It will be conducted by outside consultants who have extensive experience leading program evaluations and performance reviews.

The review will commence in October. Given the complexity and highly specialized nature of the program, the process is expected to take several months. The evaluation and assessment will include the quality of patient care; supervision of the program; and education, training and supervision of staff.

While OHSU works to engage an external review team, the OHSU Heart Transplant Program will remain focused on ensuring affected patients have immediate and ongoing care plans. To date, all 20 patients on the heart transplant wait list who have requested a transfer to another center have been successfully connected. The team continues to work with other patients impacted by the program’s inactivation.

After the review team has been selected, additional information about the scope, timeline and degree to which information can be publicly disclosed will be shared without compromising confidentiality and the integrity of the review.

“We are fully committed to reactivating the state’s only heart transplant program for patients in Oregon and beyond. To that end, we are aggressively recruiting the specialists needed to provide the full continuum of care,” said Jacobs. “Although much of the peer review process is confidential, we will share our progress with patients, employees and the community.”