For the 11th consecutive year, Johns Hopkins Hospital has topped the list of America's best medical centers in the annual ranking by U.S. News and World Report.
Hopkins led the magazine's "honor roll" by ranking first in four specialties - gynecology, urology, ophthalmology, and ear, nose and throat - and by receiving high ratings in 12 other areas.
"Our achievement this year is yet another grand opportunity to thank all employees for all that they do for Johns Hopkins Medicine and our patients," said Dr. Edward D. Miller, the chief operating officer and medical school dean.
"It's important, as we say each year, to note that all of the medical centers on the magazine's honor roll are superb, and we are privileged to be in their good company."
The rankings are scheduled to appear in Monday's edition of the weekly magazine but were released on the U.S. News Web site. This is the magazine's 12th annual assessment of U.S. hospitals. Hopkins placed second behind the Mayo Clinic in the first issue, but has topped the list since.
This year, Hopkins is followed by the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.; Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston; the Cleveland Clinic; and the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.
The magazine sifted data from 6,116 hospitals to arrive at 168 that excelled in 17 specialties. Institutions were ranked on the basis of reputation, mortality rates and other factors related to patient care, a spokesman said. Those included nursing and technology.
Hopkins ranked second in geriatrics, rheumatology and digestive disorders; third in cancer, hormonal disorders, respiratory diseases and pediatrics; and fourth in heart disease and orthopedics. The hospital ranked fifth in psychiatry, sixth in kidney and 15th in rehabilitation.
Five other Baltimore-area hospitals ranked high enough in particular specialties to be listed in the magazine.
The University of Maryland Medical System ranked 35th in hormonal disorders, 45th in kidney disease, 41st in rheumatology and 46th in urology.
The Greater Baltimore Medical Center in Towson placed 41st in cancer, 45th in digestive disorders and 49th in gynecology. The Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center was 29th in geriatrics. The Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital in Towson ranked 12th in psychiatry, while Sinai Hospital was 41st in heart disease.
The top U.S. hospitals:
1. Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore.
2. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
3. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.
4. Cleveland Clinic.
5. UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles.
6. Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.
7. Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis.
7. University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor.
9. University of California-San Francisco Medical Center.
10. Stanford University Hospital, Stanford, Calif.
11. Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston.
12. University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle.
13. New York Presbyterian Hospital.
14. Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
15. University of Chicago Hospitals.
16. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
