The best U.S. hospitals for cancer care, diabetes and other specialties, ranked

Need speciality care? A new ranking aims to highlight the top hospitals for different specialized care needs, from cancer to cardiology.  

Published in U.S. News & World Report on Tuesday, the outlet’s “Best Hospitals for Complex Specialty Care” rankings for 2024 to 2025 are meant for patients with “life-threatening or rare conditions who need a hospital that excels in treating complex, high-risk cases.”

“U.S. News estimates that nearly 2 million hospital inpatients a year face the prospect of surgery or special care that poses either unusual technical challenges or significantly heightened risk of death or harm because of age, physical condition or existing conditions,” the outlet notes on its website. “The rankings are a tool that can help these patients and their families find sources of skilled inpatient care.”

The rankings are just a starting point for patients, however, as they do not include individual factors like travel and insurance coverage. U.S. News states patients still have to research and talk with their doctors to determine what is best for their situation.

Twelve of the 15 specialty rankings are derived from data sources such as Medicare. The data-driven analysis combines performance measures in three areas of health care: structure, process and outcomes.

The remaining three specialty rankings (in ophthalmology, psychiatry and rheumatology) are determined by expert opinion. These opinions are “based on responses from three years of surveys of physician specialists who were asked to name the hospitals to which they would be inclined to refer their sickest patients,” according to the outlet. 

Here are five of the specialties analyzed and their top three hospital rankings: 

Cancer care

1. University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center — Houston, Texas
2. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center — New York, New York
3. Mayo Clinic-Rochester — Rochester, Minnesota

Diabetes and endocrinology

1. Mayo Clinic-Rochester — Rochester, Minnesota
2. Brigham and Women’s Hospital — Boston, Massachusetts
3. New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell (tie) — New York, New York

Cardiology, heart and vascular surgery

1. Cleveland Clinic — Cleveland, Ohio
2. NYU Langone Hospitals — New York, New York
3. Mayo Clinic-Rochester — Rochester, Minnesota

Orthopedics

1. Hospital for Special Surgery — New York, New York
2. Mayo Clinic-Rochester — Rochester, Minnesota
3. NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital — New York, New York

Rehabilitation

1. Shirley Ryan AbilityLab — Chicago, Illinois
2. TIRR Memorial Hermann — Houston, Texas
3. Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital — Charlestown, Massachusetts