Mass General Falls to Third Place in Hospital Rankings

Mass General photo by Samantha Carey

Tuesday’s U.S. News & World Report hospital rankings bring bad news for Massachusetts General Hospital. After winning the top spot last year, Mass General fell to number three for 2016-2017.

Being third in the nation is nothing to sneeze at, of course, but the drop comes just a week after Mass General, and many other big-name hospitals, received disappointing ratings from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The U.S. News slip is likely the result of updates to the ranking methodology, which now give hospitals that place first in a particular specialty higher marks overall.

Mass General came in behind the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic. The Mayo Clinic took top honors in eight specialties, which may explain its winning rating.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), which came in sixth last year, also fell in the rankings, landing at 13th overall.

Still, Boston’s fine institutions didn’t do poorly by any means. Mass General was still in the top five for many specialties, and placed first in psychiatry and second in diabetes and endocrinology. Elsewhere in Boston, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary was named best ear, nose, and throat and fourth-best ophthalmology hospital; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute took fourth in cancer care; McLean Hospital finished second in psychiatry; Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital placed fifth in rehab; and BWH was fifth in rheumatology.

U.S. News’ ratings also highlight the top hospitals in each state. Unsurprisingly, Mass General was named best in Massachusetts, followed by BWH, Springfield’s Baystate Medical Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Tufts Medical Center.

Don’t take it too hard, Mass General. We’re still lucky to have you.