Best U.S. hospitals

By David Liu

U.S. News and World Report released America's Best Hospitals: the 2009-10 Honor Roll on July 15, 2009, which resulted from a survey of 4,861 hospitals nationwide.

The hospitals are ranked in 16 specialties including cancer, diabetes & endocrine disorders, digestive disorders, ear, nose & throat, geriatric care, gynecology, heart & heart surgery, kidney disorders, neurology & neurosurgery, ophthalmology, orthopedics, psychiatry, rehabilitation, respiratory disorders, rheumatology, and urology based on scores on how they handle complex and demanding health conditions. Specifically, for 12 of the 16 specialties, hospitals were assessed based on reputation, death rate, patient safety, and care. For four specialties, ophthalmology, psychiatry, rehabilitation, and rheumatology, hospitals were ranked on reputation only.

The best 10 hospitals starting with the best are Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical center, Los Angeles, Cleveland Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell, University of California, San Francisco Medical Center, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University, St. Louis, and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston. These hospitals other 11 hospitals have the best performance in six or more specialties.

More than 900 hospitals are considered for their performance in cancer care and the best 10 hospitals starting with the best include University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer center, Houston, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, University of California, San Francisco Medical center, Duke University Medical center, Durham, N.C. and Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Stanford, California.