Although its primary business is providing mainstream news, the U.S. News & World Report is best known for its annual rankings of best colleges, graduate schools, and hospitals. This week, the Report released its 2010-2011 rankings of the best hospitals in the United States, based on aggregate performance scores in 16 specialties.

For Gastroenterology, there were more than 1,500 hospitals listed in the rankings, based on available expertise and resources to manage complex cases. Some additional criteria included the reputation among physician specialists, level of nursing staffing (balance of patient-to-nurse ratio), and adjusted mortality rates. Topping the list again this year for best hospital in gastroenterology is the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The hospital garnered a “very strong” (55.3%) reputation rating, “highest” level of nursing staff, and “better than expected” (0.72) survival score. Its cumulative score was 100/100. Following closely behind the Mayo Clinic (with cumulative score) are the Cleveland Clinic (84.1), Johns Hopkins Hospital (76.7), and Massachusetts General Hospital (72.0).

Only the top 50 hospitals were ranked according to score. Drum roll for the best hospitals in gastroenterology …

  1. Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota)
  2. Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, Ohio)
  3. Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore, Maryland)
  4. Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, Massachusetts)
  5. Mount Sinai Medical Center (New York, New York)
  6. University of Chicago Medical Center (Chicago, Illinois)
  7. Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
  8. Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (Los Angeles, California)
  9. New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell (New York, New York)
  10. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles, California)
  11. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
  12. Barnes-Jewish Hospital / Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri)
  13. University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
  14. Clarian Health (Indianapolis, Indiana)
  15. University of California, San Francisco Medical Center (San Francisco, California)
  16. Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston, Massachusetts)
  17. Cleveland Clinic Florida (Weston, Florida)
  18. Duke University Medical Center (Durham, North Carolina)
  19. University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, Texas)
  20. Methodist Hospital (Houston, Texas)
  21. Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
  22. Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Chicago, Illinois)
  23. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston, Massachusetts)
  24. Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston, South Carolina)
  25. Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, Tennessee)

While it is interesting to see how the hospitals compare to each other on the list, please keep in mind that these rankings are based on artificial formulae and on aggregate data. There are a myriad of factors that influence the quality of health care delivery. Even within any one institution, the quality of expertise, services, and resources may vary greatly. The third-ranked hospital is not necessarily any better or worse than its seventh-ranked counterpart.

In either case, kudos goes to the institutions listed among the best hospitals in gastroenterology. It is a reflection of their enormous investments in patient care, education, and research. There are high expectations of these institutions, and I look forward to their many future achievements in the fields of gastroenterology and hepatology.