CMS certification 040016
University of Arkansas Medical Sciences
4301 West Markham Street Mail Slot 612, Little Rock, AR 72205
University of Arkansas Medical Sciences has a CMS overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars. 76% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. Of the 23 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 2 and worse on 1. Emergency patients spend a median of 4 h 45 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min).
Every figure on this page is published by CMS; we arrange and explain it, and score nothing ourselves.
What patients said
Answers from patients who stayed here, collected by CMS in the national HCAHPS survey: 1,489 completed surveys, 21% response rate, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.
Emergency department
How long emergency patients spent here and how some time-critical care went, from CMS's timely and effective care measures, Oct 2024 – Sep 2025. CMS classes this emergency department's patient volume as very high; busier departments tend to have longer times, so the national median for departments of the same volume is shown too. These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
| Measure | This hospital | AR | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median time in the emergency department before leaving Lower is better · 5,588 visits sampled · US median for EDs of the same volume: 3 h 21 min | 4 h 45 min | 2 h 30 min | 2 h 42 min |
| Median time for psychiatric and mental health patients Lower is better · 416 visits sampled | 4 h 42 min | 3 h 46 min | 4 h 17 min |
| Left before being seen Lower is better · 62,493 patients | 5% | 2% | 2% |
| Severe sepsis and septic shock: all recommended care given Higher is better · 129 patients | 46% | 68% | 65% |
How University of Arkansas Medical Sciences compares with nearby hospitals
The closest hospitals of the same kind that CMS rates or surveys - the same city first, then the same county and ZIP area. Every figure is CMS's: the overall star rating, the share of patients who would definitely recommend the hospital, the median time emergency patients spent before leaving, and how many death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS found better or worse than the national rate.
| Hospital | CMS stars | Would recommend | ER median time | Vs the nation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Arkansas Medical SciencesThis hospital | 2/5 | 76% | 4 h 45 min | 2 better 1 worse |
| Baptist Health Medical Center-Little RockSame city | 3/5 | 67% | 2 h 20 min | 4 better 6 worse |
| Chi-St Vincent InfirmarySame city | 3/5 | 64% | 2 h 53 min | 6 better 1 worse |
| VA Central Ar. Veterans Healthcare System LrSame city | 2/5 | 68% | — | 4 worse |
| Arkansas Heart Hospital, LLCSame city | 3/5 | 87% | 3 h 58 min | 1 better 3 worse |
| St Vincent Medical Center/NorthSame county · Sherwood | 4/5 | 77% | 2 h 8 min | 1 better |
Hospitals differ in size and in how sick their patients are. CMS adjusts its outcome measures for that, but a star or a percentage is a starting point for questions, not a verdict. All hospitals in Little Rock.
Deaths
How many patients died within 30 days of admission, adjusted by CMS for how sick they were. Lower is better. Data from Jul 2022 – Jun 2025.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| All patients, hospital-wide 3,042 cases | Too few cases | 3.3% | 3.9% |
| Heart attack 56 cases | Too few cases | 11.7% | 11.9% |
| Heart failure 197 cases | Too few cases | 13.1% | 11.1% |
| Pneumonia 289 cases | Too few cases | 12.6% | 15.2% |
| Stroke 388 cases | Too few cases | 13% | 11.9% |
| COPD 90 cases | Too few cases | 9.3% | 8.6% |
1 more measure had too few cases here to report.
Complications
How often patients had serious complications, most of them after surgery, adjusted for how sick they were. Lower is better. Data from Jul 2022 – Jun 2024.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serious complications, combined measure | No different | 0.94 likely 0.66 – 1.21 | 1 |
| Deaths after a serious but treatable surgical complication 177 cases | No different | 180.06 per 1,000 likely 141.85 per 1,000 – 218.27 per 1,000 | 173.3 per 1,000 |
| Pressure ulcers (bed sores) 6,669 cases | No different | 0.1 per 1,000 likely 0 per 1,000 – 0.64 per 1,000 | 0.63 per 1,000 |
| Collapsed lung caused by a procedure 7,560 cases | No different | 0.24 per 1,000 likely 0.04 per 1,000 – 0.44 per 1,000 | 0.21 per 1,000 |
| Broken bones from falls in the hospital 7,804 cases | No different | 0.23 per 1,000 likely 0.05 per 1,000 – 0.42 per 1,000 | 0.27 per 1,000 |
| Bleeding or hematoma after surgery 2,700 cases | No different | 2.17 per 1,000 likely 0.99 per 1,000 – 3.35 per 1,000 | 2.34 per 1,000 |
| Kidney injury needing dialysis after surgery 1,018 cases | No different | 1.68 per 1,000 likely 0.14 per 1,000 – 3.21 per 1,000 | 1.67 per 1,000 |
| Breathing failure after surgery 900 cases | No different | 11.89 per 1,000 likely 5.81 per 1,000 – 17.96 per 1,000 | 9.42 per 1,000 |
| Blood clots in the lungs or legs after surgery 2,957 cases | No different | 3.43 per 1,000 likely 1.82 per 1,000 – 5.04 per 1,000 | 3.52 per 1,000 |
| Sepsis after surgery 990 cases | No different | 5.8 per 1,000 likely 2.65 per 1,000 – 8.96 per 1,000 | 5.27 per 1,000 |
| Surgical wound splitting open 767 cases | No different | 1.9 per 1,000 likely 0.55 per 1,000 – 3.25 per 1,000 | 1.77 per 1,000 |
| Accidental cut or tear during abdominal surgery 1,971 cases | No different | 1.46 per 1,000 likely 0.63 per 1,000 – 2.29 per 1,000 | 1.06 per 1,000 |
1 more measure had too few cases here to report.
Infections caught in the hospital
Standardized infection ratio: 1.0 means as many infections as CMS predicted for a hospital like this one. Lower is better. Data from Oct 2024 – Sep 2025.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloodstream infections from central lines (CLABSI) | No different | 1.02 likely 0.68 – 1.49 | 1 |
| Urinary tract infections from catheters (CAUTI) | No different | 0.77 likely 0.46 – 1.22 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after colon surgery | No different | 0.86 likely 0.46 – 1.45 | 1 |
| Surgical site infections after abdominal hysterectomy | No different | 0.45 likely 0.02 – 2.22 | 1 |
| MRSA bloodstream infections | No different | 1.33 likely 0.85 – 2 | 1 |
| C. diff intestinal infections | Better | 0.47 likely 0.33 – 0.66 | 1 |
Readmissions and return visits
How often patients had to come back to a hospital after going home. Lower is better. Data from Jul 2023 – Jun 2025.
| Measure | CMS comparison | This hospital | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Readmitted after a heart attack 94 cases | Too few cases | 14.1% | 14.4% |
| Readmitted after heart failure 375 cases | Too few cases | 21.4% | 21.3% |
| Readmitted after pneumonia 467 cases | Too few cases | 16.7% | 17.3% |
| Readmitted after COPD 169 cases | Too few cases | 20.3% | 20% |
| Days back in hospital after a heart attack 51 cases | Too few cases | 8.1 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after heart failure 220 cases | Too few cases | 37.2 days per 100 | — |
| Days back in hospital after pneumonia 321 cases | Too few cases | 19 days per 100 | — |
| Unplanned visits after an outpatient colonoscopy 698 cases | No different | 13.8 per 1,000 likely 10.6 per 1,000 – 18.2 per 1,000 | 13 per 1,000 |
| Hospital admissions during outpatient chemotherapy 636 cases | No different | 12.2 per 100 likely 10.2 per 100 – 14.4 per 100 | 10.7 per 100 |
| ER visits during outpatient chemotherapy 636 cases | No different | 6 per 100 likely 4.7 per 100 – 7.6 per 100 | 5.4 per 100 |
| Unplanned visits after outpatient surgery 1,088 cases | No different | 1 likely 0.8 – 1.2 | — |
3 more measures had too few cases here to report.
Clinicians registered at this address
1,707 clinicians give this hospital's street address as their practice location in NPPES, the federal provider registry, plus 1,003 residents and trainees. The same address can take in offices and clinics in the building, and a listing does not prove admitting privileges or current employment.
| Specialty | Clinicians |
|---|---|
| Internal Medicine | 104 |
| Acute Care | 100 |
| Anesthesiology | 95 |
| Family | 81 |
| Emergency Medicine | 77 |
| Nurse Anesthetist, Certified Registered | 73 |
| Physician Assistant | 72 |
| Diagnostic Radiology | 53 |
| Clinical | 42 |
| Psychiatry | 42 |
| Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology | 38 |
| Dietitian, Registered | 37 |
First 12 alphabetically
Money from drug and device companies
Drug and device makers have to report what they pay teaching hospitals to CMS's Open Payments program. At many teaching hospitals most of it is research funding, or royalties for inventions the hospital licensed to a company. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.
- 2019 $2M
- 2020 $1.7M
- 2021 $1.6M
- 2022 $1.9M
- 2023 $2.9M
- 2024 $2.4M
- 2025 $1.7M
What the 2025 general payments were for
| Type of payment | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Space rental and facility fees | $190,000 | 61 |
| Grants | $164,029 | 16 |
| Medical devices and supplies on long-term loan | $153,954 | 18 |
| Debt forgiveness | $108,107 | 13 |
| Speaking, teaching and other services | $41,640 | 23 |
| Education | $18,250 | 3 |
| Gifts | $4,000 | 1 |
| Consulting fees | $2,000 | 1 |
Largest paying companies, 2025
| Company | Amount | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Pfizer INC. | $140,459 | 30 |
| Abbvie INC. | $137,169 | 47 |
| Intuitive Surgical, INC. | $113,000 | 12 |
| Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | $112,270 | 11 |
| Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC | $107,712 | 2 |
| UCB, Inc. | $104,000 | 2 |
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | $100,540 | 3 |
| Biotronik INC. | $97,668 | 8 |
Largest research studies funded here, 2025
| Study | Amount |
|---|---|
| A Phase 3 Randomized Open-Label Study of Adjuvant Pembrolizumab With or Without MK-2870 in Participants With Resectable Stage II to IIIB N2 NSCLC not… Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC | $102,712 |
| A Phase 3, Open-label Study Evaluating the Long-term Safety and Efficacy of VX-121 Combination Therapy in Subjects With Cystic Fibrosis VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INCORPORATED | $86,402 |
| A PHASE 1B OPENLABEL STUDY OF ELRANATAMAB IN COMBINATION WITH CARFILZOMIB PLUS DEXAMETHASONE IN PARTICIPANTS WITH RELAPSED REFRACTORY MULTIPLE MYELOMA PFIZER INC. | $84,499 |
| TAK-280-1501 Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. | $81,140 |
| A Phase 1 First In Human Open Label Dose Escalation Study of JNJ64407564 a Humanized GPRC5D x CD3 DuoBody Antibody in Subjects with Relapsed or Refra… Janssen Research & Development, LLC | $60,292 |
| Trial of Nab-Sirolimus in Combination With Letrozole in Patients With Advanced or Recurrent Endometrioid Endometrial Cancer Aadi Bioscience, Inc. · NCT05997017 | $34,674 |
| A Trial of Amlenetug (Lu AF82422) in Participants With Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) (MASCOT) H. Lundbeck A S | $30,990 |
| A Study to Assess Adverse Events and Change in Disease Activity of Intravenously (IV) Infused ABBV-383 in Combination With Anti-Cancer Regimens for t… ABBVIE INC. · NCT05259839 | $26,291 |
Amounts are as the paying companies reported them to CMS; Open Payments data retrieved 13 Sep 2026. Full record on CMS Open Payments.
How to read this page
- Everything here is published by CMS on Care Compare. We arrange it and explain it; the star ratings and the better / worse verdicts are CMS's, not ours.
- “No different” is the most common result on most measures at most hospitals. CMS only calls a result better or worse when the difference from the national rate is statistically clear.
- Death, complication and readmission rates are adjusted by CMS for how sick patients were, so hospitals that treat sicker patients can be compared fairly.
- Infection results are ratios: 1.0 means as many infections as CMS predicted for a hospital like this one, below 1.0 is fewer.
- These are hospital-wide results. They do not rate an individual doctor, nurse or department, and they are not medical advice.
CMS Care Compare data retrieved 4 Oct 2026, refreshed weekly. Where this data comes from and how we handle it · Report an error
Common questions about University of Arkansas Medical Sciences
Is University of Arkansas Medical Sciences a good hospital?
University of Arkansas Medical Sciences has a CMS overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars. Of the 23 death, complication, infection and readmission measures CMS could compare, it does better than the nation on 2 and worse on 1. These are hospital-wide results published by CMS; they do not rate individual doctors or departments.
Would patients recommend University of Arkansas Medical Sciences?
76% of patients who answered CMS's national survey would definitely recommend it, against a US average of 71%. The figure comes from 1,489 completed HCAHPS surveys.
How long is the wait in the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences emergency room?
Emergency patients spend a median of 4 h 45 min in its emergency department before leaving (US median 2 h 42 min). Among US emergency departments with very high patient volume, like this one, the median is 3 h 21 min. 5% of emergency patients left before being seen (US 2%). These are medians over a year of visits, not a live wait time.
Does University of Arkansas Medical Sciences receive money from drug and device companies?
Drug and device makers reported $1.7M in payments to University of Arkansas Medical Sciences for 2025, most of it research funding, under the federal Open Payments program. A payment on its own does not show a conflict of interest.