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'U.S. News and World Report': Johns Hopkins Tops Survey of American Hospitals

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DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital is getting high marks for health care. The hospital ranks number one in "U.S. News and World Report"'s annual survey of American hospitals. The Mayo Clinic of Rochester, Minnesota, comes in at number two. Here is a look at rounding out the top five: Massachusetts General in Boston and the Cleveland Clinic comes in fourth, while the UCLA Medical Center in Southern California ranks fifth.

For more on the survey, we are joined by Avery Comarow. He is a senior writer with "U.S. News and World Report."

Thanks for joining us this morning.

AVERY COMAROW, "U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT": Glad to be here.

KAGAN: Top hospitals, says who? and how do you decide?

COMAROW: We look at every hospital in the United States. We don't want any hospital left out of the running. And then we start weeding them down by applying a whole list of standards. And the important ones are that we look at their reputation in 17 different specialities, according to 17 groups of specialists. We look at their death rate, and we look at numbers like how many nurses they have compared to the number of deaths.

KAGAN: And then you also break it down in terms of speciality. For instance, my dad is having knee surgery this morning in a couple of hours. So, for orthopedics, where would be the best place for him to be having knee surgery today?

COMAROW: I don't have the rankings in front of me, but it sounds like probably New York, the hospital for special surgery has been very high on our list in New York for some years. You can tell me if that's number one.

KAGAN: OK, what I am looking at, I think it says the Mayo Clinic topped the listings for treatment of orthopedics. So -- That's in Minnesota, my dad is in Southern California. How does that help your readers, if they are reading that? I mean. practically, you are not going to get on a plane, most people won't have the means to get on a plane and go, let's say, to where the top hospital might be.

COMAROW: No, of course, not. And we don't think they should. For most routine care, their local hospital is just fine. What your father might want to do is to look at that list and see if there are any hospitals within 50 or 100 miles, and start making some calls, you know, who can deal best with my knee problem, for instance. What technique do you use? what's your cure rate?

The questions are important because one of the things that you might find out is that a local hospital may have someone who specializes in a procedure who can do just as well as any hospital on these lists.

KAGAN: And what you are doing is then actually encouraging consumers -- patients to be consumers and do a little comparative shopping and not just take what they are handed.

COMAROW: Exactly. This is a starting point. We don't want anyone to look at these list and say: I have to go to Johns Hopkins or to Mayo or to UCLA or Mass General for everything, no matter what it is. These are hospitals that are -- that you look at as possible candidates when you really, absolutely have to have the best level of care.

KAGAN: And folks want more information, want to check out more, they can go on to your news site, usnews.com.

COMAROW: Exactly.

KAGAN: And check out the rankings. And they will do that -- probably my dad won't be doing that. He will be sleeping it off later today.

And dad, if you're watching, good luck with that knee surgery.

Avery Comarow, thanks for joining us this morning.

COMAROW: You are welcome.

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