U.S. News Media Group Releases 2011-12 Best Hospitals Rankings

WASHINGTON, July 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --  U.S. News Media Group has released the 2011-12 Best Hospitals rankings, its 22nd annual publication of the analysis. The rankings are freely available at www.usnews.com/besthospitals and will be featured in the U.S. News Best Hospitals guidebook, which will go on sale August 30.

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The latest rankings showcase 720 hospitals out of about 5,000 hospitals nationwide. Each is ranked among the country's top hospitals in at least one medical specialty and/or ranked among the best hospitals in its metro area. Just 17 hospitals made the national Honor Roll, a distinction that signals both rare breadth and rare depth of medical excellence.

The core mission of Best Hospitals is to help guide patients who need an especially high level of care because of a difficult surgery, a challenging condition, or added risk because of other health problems or age. "These are referral centers where other hospitals send their sickest patients," said Avery Comarow, U.S. News Health Rankings Editor. "Hospitals like these are ones you or those close to you should consider when the stakes are high."

Covering 94 metro areas in the U.S., the regional hospital rankings complement the national rankings by including hospitals with solid performance nearly at the level of nationally ranked institutions. The regional rankings are aimed primarily at consumers whose care may not demand the special expertise found only at a nationally ranked Best Hospital or who may not be willing or able to travel long distances for medical care. The U.S. News metro rankings give many such patients and their families more options of hospitals within their community and in their health insurance network.

"These are hospitals we call 'high performers.' They are fully capable of giving most patients first-rate care, even if they have serious conditions or need demanding procedures," Comarow said. "Almost every major metro area has at least one of these hospitals."

Hard numbers stand behind the rankings in most specialties—death rates, patient safety, procedure volume, and other objective data. Responses to a national survey, in which physicians were asked to name hospitals they consider best in their specialty for the toughest cases, also were factored in.

The rankings cover 16 medical specialties and all 94 metro areas that have at least 500,000 residents and at least one hospital that performed well enough to be ranked.

In an exclusive arrangement, the launch of this edition of Best Hospitals is being sponsored by Fidelity Investments.

About the U.S. News Media Group

The U.S. News Media Group is a multi-platform publisher of news and analysis, which includes the digital-only U.S. News Weekly magazine, www.usnews.com, and www.rankingsandreviews.com. Focusing on Health, Money, Education, Travel, Cars, and Public Service/Opinion, the U.S. News Media Group has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers. The U.S. News Media Group's signature franchise includes its News You Can Use® brand of journalism and its "Best" series of consumer guides that include rankings of colleges, graduate schools, hospitals, mutual funds, health plans, and more.

SOURCE U.S. News Media Group