Med center rated number seven

Duke University Medical Center has been named the seventh-best hospital in the nation by U.S. News & World Report's annual Honor Roll of America's Best Hospitals, tying the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center for the position.

DUMC was also ranked seventh in 2006, and has been listed in the top 10 since the the special issue debuted in 1989. DUMC was the only hospital in North Carolina and in the Southeast to be included in this year's top 10.

"We are pleased that U.S. News & World Report has once again included Duke amongst the very best medical centers in the United States," Dr. William Fulkerson, CEO of Duke University Hospital, told DukeMedNews. "This designation is a reflection of the talent and dedication of our physicians, nurses and staff."

Out of the some 6,000 hospitals in the U.S., only 173 made the honor roll. The 18 hospitals named in the magazine's July 25 issue had to exhibit strength in at least six of 16 specialties evaluated on three equally-weighted elements: reputation, death rate and care-related factors.

Reputation is measured by a random sampling of board-certified doctors rather than statistical evidence taken from clinical work or research. DUMC representatives have said in years past that this element could make rankings arbitrary, especially because some specialties, including ophthalmology, are only evaluated under this consideration.

Duke ranked in the top 25 of the honor roll for 15 of the assessment areas and received 18 points for ranking in the top 10 in 10 specialties. Last year, it only scored highly in 14 areas.

DUMC improved from 2006 in Gynecology, Orthopedics, Ear/Nose/Throat and Otolaryngology, Digestive/Gastroenterology and Ophthalmology, but fell in eight areas and did not score as well in Pediatrics this year.

Duke was ranked behind Johns Hopkins Hospital-ranked first for the 18th consecutive year-the Mayo Clinic, the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center, the Cleveland Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital and New York-Presbyterian Hospital.