US News & World Report: Top 10 psychiatric hospitals based on reputation

Hospitals receiving top honors for psychiatric care were announced today in the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals survey.

Psychiatric hospitals were ranked based on a reputational survey because procedures are largely performed on an outpatient basis with a very small risk for death.

The top 10 hospitals include:

Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
New-York Presbyterian University Hospital and Columbia and Cornell
Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
McLean Hospitals, Belmont, Mass.
Menninger Clinic, Houston
Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital, Baltimore
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA, Los Angeles
Austen Riggs Center, Stockbridge, Mass.
UPMC-University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Along with being number two in psychiatry, New-York Presbyterian University Hospital was also ranked number one in New York and number six in the nation.

“We are honored to once again be recognized as the top hospital in New York and among the best in the nation,” said Steven J. Corwin, MD, CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. “This achievement is made possible by our trustees and our amazing team of doctors, nurses and staff, who are dedicated to providing the highest-quality and most compassionate care, every day to every patient. Together with our affiliated medical schools, Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, we are committed to delivering outstanding patient-centered care, training the nation’s best physicians and conducting cutting-edge clinical research. This recognition by U.S. News & World Report validates our commitment.”

Steven J. Corwin

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. HIV/AIDS was removed from the list in 1998 once its treatment had moved primarily to outpatient settings. 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. Because mortality is a key factor in the complex weighting system employed by U.S. News & World Report, ophthalmology, psychiatry, rehabilitation and rheumatology are judged using a reputation metric.

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.

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