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 …

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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.

General Articles

• Reducing just 3 grams of salt from the diet of the average American could prevent up to 66,000 strokes, 99,000 heart attacks, and 92,000 deaths in the United States. This would also save $24 billion in health care costs per year. (Reuters)

• Raising ambulatory care copayments among elderly patients similarly increased rates of hospitalizations, length of stays, and total cost of care. (NEJM)

Technical Articles

• Reducing the rates of readmission in the geriatric population. A hospitalist and his colleagues at the Baylor University Medical Center performed a pilot project involving a care coordinator and clinical pharmacist performing telephone follow-up calls and home visits to geriatric patients recently discharged from the hospital. The team found that this approach reduced the rates of readmissions or emergency visits within 30 days after discharge. The population studied included geriatric patients pre-identified to be have high risk for readmission. (ACP Hospitalist)

• High doses (50 mg / day or more) of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain in the elderly were associated with a two-fold increased risk for developing a fracture. (J Gen Intern Med)

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.

General Articles

• Video games may cause kids to suffer finger and wrist pain (WebMD)

• Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine employed high-sensitivity MRI scanners to evaluate the effect of glucosamine on progression of knee osteoarthritis. They “did not find any evidence that glucosamine can prevent or slow joint damage in individuals with mild to moderate knee pain.” The results from the study resemble findings from an earlier meta-analysis that did not demonstrate substantive symptomatic benefit from the use of chondroitin. (WebMD)

• Universal health coverage in Massachusetts does not reduce visits to the Emergency Department (American Medical News)

Technical Articles

• Prophylactic administration of acetaminophen for febrile reactions at the time of vaccination reduces antibody responses to vaccine antigens in children (Lancet)

Although the core business of the U.S News & World Report franchise is the delivery of mainstream news, it is best known for annual rankings of the best colleges, graduate schools, and hospitals. Like clockwork every July, the magazine just released today its rankings for the best hospitals in the United States.

The overall ranking is based on the sum of points assigned to a hospital’s top-tier specialty services. A hospital gets 2 points for each specialty ranked “at or close to the top” when compared to its peer hospitals. They receive 1 point for each specialty that is ranked lower.

Topping the list this year, and for the nineteenth consecutive time, is the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. The hospital has 3 specialties ranked as the top in the nation, including Urology, Rheumatology, and Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose, and Throat). It also has 10 other specialties within the top-three rank. Its closest rival, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, also has 3 first-ranked specialties, including Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, and Neurology/Neurosurgery. The remaining few contenders on the list may have at most one or two top-ranked specialties. The Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, which has now taken the third spot since 2007, and the title “Best in West [Coast]” for the 20th consecutive year, leads the nation in geriatric care. The top 7 institutions on the list has not changed since last year.

Drum roll for the top twenty-one (#10 and #11, #17 and #18 below are tied) …

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TechCrunch, a technology blog focused on Internet-related products and companies, reports on the brewing partnership between Healthline (medical information portal) and Aetna (health insurance company) to create a personalized health portal. Similar to the Google and Cleveland Clinic deal, Healthline will benefit from a rapid infusion of new users, comprising the thousands of individuals insured by Aetna. It is unclear what Aetna gains from this marriage, as additional details surrounding the collaboration are yet sparse. It seems that dynamic duos are now the trend to remain competitive in the personal health record (PHR) industry.

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