US News & World Report updates ‘Best Hospital’ ranking methodology

Editor's Note

The latest "Best Hospitals" rankings from U.S. News & World Report have been released with significant updates to methodology in response to recent controversies. MedPage Today reported the news July 16.

Among the chief changes this year is the inclusion of Medicare Advantage data in the rankings, a move made to reflect a national trend towards commercial insurance plans, MedPage reports. Hospitals in 11 adult specialties are now evaluated based on outcomes for both traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage patients. Other changes include incorporating outpatient outcomes, refining interhospital transfer identification, and combining gynecological cancer surgery ratings.

Last year, U.S. News stopped using ordinal rankings for top-performing “honor roll” honor roll amid pushback, MedPage reports. ordinal rankings  from the annual, top-performing Honor Roll last year, including those for hospitals window and medical schools, amid pushback regarding several of the outlet's rankings.

The 2024-2025 rankings compared over 4,500 hospitals across 15 specialties and 20 procedures, emphasizing patient care measures. Only 160 facilities earned a "Best Hospitals" ranking, with Duke University as a new addition to the Honor Roll of top 20 hospitals.