U.S. News Names Lahey Hospital #4 Massachusetts Hospital

BURLINGTON, MA — Burlington's Lahey Hospital and Medical Center is the fourth best hospital in Massachusetts, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report hospital rankings.

The latest ranking of the best hospitals in the United States come from data derived before the coronavirus pandemic, which is likely to change the rankings.

"The pandemic has altered, perhaps permanently, how patients get care and from whom they get it. Amid the disruption, we are steadfastly committed to providing the public with authoritative data for comparing hospital quality," said Ben Harder, managing editor and chief of health analysis at U.S. News. "No hospital's clinical team came through this unprecedented health crisis unscathed."

In the Massachusetts ranking of best hospitals, Lahey trails Massachusetts General and Brigham & Women's, which made the national Honor Roll, as well as its sister hospital Beth Israel Deaconess.

U.S. News updated rankings for 16 medical specialties: cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology, ear, nose and throat, gastroenterology and GI surgery, geriatrics, gynecology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, ophthalmology, orthopedics, psychiatry, pulmonology and lung surgery, rehabilitation, rheumatology and urology.

Lahey is rated as a "high-performing hospital" in a number of specialties and procedures/conditions:

• Colon cancer surgery
• Lung cancer surgery
• Heart failure
• Heart bypass surgery
• Gastroenterology and GI surgery
• Colon cancer surgery
• Geriatrics
• Nephrology
• Orthopedics
• Hip replacement
• Pulmonology and lung surgery
• Lung cancer surgery
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• Urology

Twelve of the specialty rankings — which cover categories such as cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology and nephrology — are determined mostly by data; the other four specialties — ophthalmology, psychiatry, rehabilitation and rheumatology — are determined entirely by expert opinion, U.S. News said.

This year, the U.S. News rankings are accompanied by their "Hospital Heroes" project, a series of profiles highlighting more than 60 health care heroes from across the country.

Methodology

U.S. News & World Report said the 2020-21 rankings evaluated nearly every community hospital in America. Only 134 hospitals out of over 4,500 were ranked in one specialty, while 563 hospitals were ranked among the best regional hospitals. A hospital was ranked regionally based on its performance in delivering complex and common care, U.S. News said. The rankings are jointly produced by U.S. News and RTI International, a North Carolina-based research organization. (Read the full U.S. News best hospitals methodology.)

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.