The U.S. News & World Report recently released its 2010-2011 rankings of the best hospitals in the United States. Although its core business is the delivery of mainstream news, the U.S. News & World Report is best known for its annual rankings of best colleges, graduate schools, and hospitals. Given the success of these rankings, they have extended them to include anything-and-everything under the sun, such as best insurance plans, nursing homes, mutual funds, high schools, vacations, and places to retire.
There were 152 hospitals included in the 2010-2011 rankings of best hospitals, but the Honor Roll of elite institutions is slimmer this year at 14 hospitals, compared to the 21 listed last year. Topping the list for the twentieth consecutive year is the Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore, Maryland). The hospital has 5 adult specialties ranked as the top in the nation, including Otorhinolaryngology (Ear, Nose, and Throat) , Gynecology, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Rheumatology, and Urology. Ten other specialties were listed among the top five in the nation. According to a national survey of hospitals, 82% of patients discharged from the Johns Hopkins Hospital would definitely recommend the hospital to family and friends. Comparatively, the state and national averages are 64% and 68%, respectively.
Another outstanding contender for the past 21 years that the Honor Roll has existed has been the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota). The Mayo Clinic has excelled with Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, and Nephrology as top-ranked specialties. As for the remaining hospitals on the Honor Roll, there have been some shifts since last year. The Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, Massachusetts) swapped with the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (Los Angeles, California) to take the #3 spot in exchange for the #5 spot. The Barnes-Jewish Hospital (St. Louis, Missouri) exchanged places with the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). Similarly, Duke University Medical Center (Durham, North Carolina) edged Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston, Massachusetts).
Drum roll for the top fourteen …

The “New & Interesting” series is a biweekly compilation of select research findings, news articles, and random tidbits in bullet-point format. The entries are highly abbreviated, but provide links to the original articles or abstracts if you desire to read further.
