Boston Children's Hospital named best children's hospital for gastroenterology, GI surgery

Boston Children’s Hospital has been ranked the No. 1 children’s hospital in the nation for gastroenterology and GI surgery, according to the 2015-2016 edition of “U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children's Hospitals” survey.

The ninth annual U.S News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospital rankings are intended to help families of children with life-threatening or rare conditions obtain the best possible medical care. The publication ranked medical centers overall, as well as in 10 pediatric specialties.

Boston Children’s Hospital finished first in the overall rankings as the country’s No. 1 pediatric hospital. It also ranked first in several specialty categories, including cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery and urology. Boston Children’s Hospital had a perfect score of 100% for GI surgery and gastroenterology, according to the report.

“These rankings are a testament to Boston Children’s Hospital’s commitment to providing the best family-centered care across the broadest spectrum of specialties,” Sandra L. Fenwick, president and chief executive officer of Boston Children’s, said in a press release. “It’s no longer enough to be the best in world-class care and groundbreaking research and innovation — to be No. 1, you must be the leader in keeping families at the center of everything you do.”

According to the report, 50 pediatric centers were ranked in digestive disorders. Liver transplant survival, patient volume and prevention of ICU infections, along with other data collected from a detailed U.S. News clinical survey of children’s hospitals, produced 83.3 % of each hospital's score. The other 16.7% reflects nominations from pediatric cancer specialists and subspecialists who responded to surveys in 2013, 2014 and 2015 and recommended the hospital for serious cases in their specialty.

Other centers named to the top 10 for pediatric gastroenterology and GI surgery in the report are: Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Children’s National Medical Center and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

U.S. News & World Report published its first report on hospitals in 1990. Since that time, the report has grown to include 16 specialties: cancer; neurology and neurosurgery; cardiology and heart surgery; ophthalmology; diabetes and endocrinology; orthopedics; ear, nose and throat; pulmonology; gastroenterology and GI surgery; psychiatry; geriatrics; rehabilitation; gynecology; rheumatology; nephrology; and urology. The list has changed over the years. In 2007, pediatrics was separated from the list and a separate report on pediatric hospitals was developed.

The data for the report are mostly derived from information provided by the American Hospital Association using a metric U.S. News & World Report called an “index of hospital quality,” based on structure, process, outcomes and patient safety. Structural measures include the amount and types of technology provided, the availability of nursing staff, and other patient services. The process of care measures the ways care is delivered, from diagnosis to treatment, prevention and patient education. Outcomes are based on risk-adjusted overall survival.

To be eligible for inclusion in the report, a hospital must be a member in the council of teaching hospitals, be affiliated with a medical school, or have at least 200 beds and associated staff or at least 100 beds and at least four “key technologies” such as advanced imaging devices, a cardiac ICU and robotic surgery. Other criteria include statistics related to volume and discharge.

A dashboard is available for hospitals to communicate directly with U.S. News & World Report and provide information, download report methodology and read related articles.

Visit http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/pediatric-rankings for the complete rankings.

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