U.S. News releases children's hospitals ranking

U.S. News has released its ranking of children’s hospitals in the U.S.  The 2012-13 Best Children’s Hospitals features 80 different hospitals that ranked among the top 50 in at least one of 10 specialties: cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology, neonatology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology, and urology. Of the 80 ranked hospitals, 12 were named to the Honor Roll for high scores in three or more specialties. The rankings rely on an extensive data survey sent to a carefully selected set of hospitals, and a reputational survey sent to pediatric specialists. For the specialist survey, 150 physicians in each specialty were asked to name up to five hospitals they consider best for children with serious or difficult problems in their field, without regard to cost or geography. The last three years of responses were totaled. Most of the 178 centers that were asked to complete the 95-page data survey are freestanding children’s hospitals or large, multispecialty pediatric departments of major medical centers, run with their own staffs, ORs, and other facilities as if they were a hospital within a hospital. Other children’s facilities were surveyed because they were previously ranked or were recommended by trusted sources. This year 100 hospitals completed the survey.

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