The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center named best cancer hospital in nation

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has retained its distinction as the No. 1 cancer hospital in the country.

MD Anderson tops U.S. News & World Report’s 2016-2017 Best Hospitals rankings for cancer care, released this morning.

This is the second straight year — and the 12th time in 15 years — that MD Anderson has ranked first. The institution has finished first or second in cancer care every year since the publication began issuing its rankings in 1990.

The 27th annual U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals rankings are intended to help patients with rare or life-threatening conditions identify hospitals that excel in treating the most difficult cases.

The top 10 cancer hospitals in this year’s rankings are: The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota; Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center; UCLA Medical Center; Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute; Seattle Cancer Care Alliance/University of Washington Medical Center; Cleveland Clinic; Johns Hopkins Hospital; and UCSF Medical Center.

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, ranked first in this year’s Honor Roll, which highlights 20 hospitals that deliver exceptional treatment across multiple areas of care.

This year’s U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals list ranks hospitals in 16 specialties.

Rankings for 12 specialties are data driven. These specialties are cancer; cardiology and heart surgery; diabetes and endocrinology; ear, nose and throat; gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery; geriatrics, gynecology; nephrology; neurology and neurosurgery; orthopedics; pulmonology; and urology.

The data for these rankings came from the CMS MedPAR database, the American Hospital Association and other professional organizations. The greatest emphasis was placed on outcomes; however, other factors — such as the number of patients and the balance of nurses to patients — also were considered.

Rankings for the remaining four specialties — ophthalmology, psychiatry, rehabilitation and rheumatology — are determined strictly by reputation as determined by surveys of physician specialists.

In 2007, pediatrics was separated from the list and a separate report on pediatric hospitals was developed. Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center has been ranked as U.S. News & World Report’s No. 1 pediatric hospital for three straight years.

To be eligible for inclusion in this year’s report, each facility had to be a teaching hospital; be affiliated with a medical school; have at least 200 beds set up and staffed; or have at least 100 beds and offer at least four of eight advanced technologies related to high-quality care.

More than 2,200 hospitals met criteria for review this year.

For a complete list of the national rankings in all 16 specialties, go to health.usnews.com/best-hospitals.

Data reprinted with permission from U.S. News & World Report.