WHAT EXACTLY MAKES A HOSPITAL THE ‘BEST’?
J. F. L. MD
Make sure your fax machine is turned on and full of paper when you leave your office Wednesday night, read an advisory to more than 125 major medical centers...
... Fax machines around the country whirred into action as U.S. News and World Report notified the winners of its annual rankings of the best hospitals. That same morning, about 100 reporters and editors received bulging press packets touting the winners.
U.S. News's 6-year-old Consumer guide to hospitals has become the hottest marketing tool in the health-care industry, a public-relations gold mine for the winning medical centers. The magazine wins, too, because the "Best Hospitals" issue generally sells slightly better than the average U.S. News and leads to a booming business selling reprints to winning hospitals.
But the rankings—which this year include 128 hospitals in 16 specialties—are also coming under fire. Officials at two major hospitals, University Hospitals of Cleveland and Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, say the list is little more than a popularity contest because the methodology is flawed.
