Certain data used for socioeconomics was provided by CareJourney and the Dartmouth Atlas Data website.

Elements of the Outcome Disparities were developed by CareJourney using data accessed securely through the CMS Virtual Research Data Center (VRDC).

Methodology

The Best Hospitals rankings are divided into two subcomponents – 15 specialty rankings (11 for Children’s Hospitals) and 20 procedure and condition ratings. 

The specialty rankings are for patients who need a hospital that excels in treating complex, high-risk cases. Hospitals are ranked from 1 to 50 in each specialty, with those not ranked but in the top 10% rated  “high performing.” Rankings in 12 specialties rely largely on objective data, such as Medicare claims and other publicly available data. Rankings are based on patient outcomes (including survival rate and the rate at which patients were able to return home rather than needing additional institutional care), patient experience, care-related factors, such as the intensity of nurse staffing and patient services, and expert opinion, based on 3 years of survey  responses from specialists who named hospitals to which they would refer their sickest patients. The final 3 specialties rely only on the expert opinion survey as much of the care is provided on an outpatient basis and outcomes are not related to survival but rather management of symptoms. The data for children’s hospitals was collected via an extensive hospital data submission survey as these data are not available in Medicare claims.

Procedure and condition ratings focus on 20 commonly needed individual types of care provided at most hospitals and which produce ratings of high performing, average or below average,  rather than numerical rankings. We analyzed data from multiple sources, including claims from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid, which details every hospital admission paid for by traditional Medicare, to assess the hospital's risk-adjusted outcomes, such as 30-day mortality, 30-day readmission and length of stay. These measure how well the hospital performed at the time of care and the ability to prevent an unplanned re-visit to the hospital due to the same condition. We also factored in variables linked to quality of care, including the number of patients treated, nurse staffing, participation in data transparency boards, and whether the hospital employed an ICU specialist. Patient satisfaction scores from a nationally-administered survey of patients, known as HCAHPS, were factored into the ratings for most procedures.

To determine the U.S. News Honor Roll, we used both rankings and ratings to identify the 20 top-performing hospitals nationally (10 for Children’s Hospitals).  We also recognized nearly 500 facilities that provide top care in their states, cities and regions as Best Regional Hospitals based on their performance in both specialty and single-focus care.

Nearby Hospitals

New York-Presbyterian Children’s Hospital-Columbia and Cornell

New York, NY

Book Appointment

Lerner Children’s Pavilion-Hospital for Special Surgery

New York, NY

New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell

New York, NY

Book Appointment