UCSF Medical Center Ranks 1st Nationwide in Neuro, Among Top 10 Hospitals for 2021-22

UCSF Medical Center has been recognized as the nation’s best hospital for neurology and neurosurgery, and among the country’s premier medical centers overall, in the 2021-22 Best Hospitals survey by U.S. News & World Report. 

The rankings, released July 27, 2021, placed UCSF among the top 10 hospitals for the 23rd year, coming in ninth on the national Best Hospitals Honor Roll. This distinction is awarded to the 20 medical centers that deliver the highest quality care across numerous specialties, procedures and conditions. 

UCSF Medical Center was ranked among the nation’s best in all 14 adult specialties for which it was assessed and among the top 10 hospitals in seven of those specialties: diabetes and endocrinology; ear, nose and throat; geriatrics; neurology and neurosurgery; ophthalmology; psychiatry; and rheumatology.   

Regionally, it was the top-ranked hospital in the San Francisco Metro Area and in Northern California overall. It also ranked highest in Northern California in 11 specialty areas, including cancer, pulmonology and ophthalmology, among others.  

“This is a great honor that reflects our priority of providing the best care for our patients, including those who come to us for the most complex care,” said Mark R. Laret, chief executive officer and president of UCSF Health, which includes UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals. “In the face of the global health crisis, our clinical teams have maintained their focus on the total health needs of our patients. I am so proud of the compassionate care they provide, every day, to the patients we are privileged to serve.” 

This is a great honor that reflects our priority of providing the best care for our patients, including those who come to us for the most complex care.

The Best Hospitals survey also recognized UCSF with the highest ranking, “high performing,” in 14 specialty procedures: abdominal aortic aneurysm repair; back surgery* (spinal fusion); chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; colon cancer surgery; heart attack*; heart bypass surgery; congestive heart failure; hip fracture*; hip replacement; kidney failure*; knee replacement; lung cancer surgery; pneumonia*; and stroke*. (* designates new categories this year) 

“UCSF has a long history of excellence in translating science into innovative care that improves the lives of our patients,” said Sam Hawgood, MBBS, chancellor of UC San Francisco. “These rankings – including the top spot in neurology and neurosurgery – show that our clinical teams, researchers and staff continue to build upon that legacy.” 

Neurology and neurosurgery are part of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, which brings together world-class researchers with top-ranked physicians to solve some of the most complex challenges in the human body.

In the annual survey, rankings for a dozen specialties are based on an extensive, data-driven analysis of performance in such areas as hospital volume, nurse staffing and patient outcomes. Rankings in ophthalmology, psychiatry and rheumatology rely solely on expert opinion. In 2016, the Honor Roll category was extensively revised to reduce the weight of expert opinion and increase the weight of objective factors. 

The specialty rankings have appeared every year since 1990. This year’s rankings were drawn from a field of 4,750 medical centers evaluated in the United States, of which 175 were ranked in at least one specialty. 

UCSF Health is recognized worldwide for its innovative patient care, reflecting the latest medical knowledge, advanced technologies and pioneering research. It includes the flagship UCSF Medical Center, which is ranked among the top 10 hospitals nationwide, as well as UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals (Oakland and San Francisco), Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital and Clinics, UCSF Benioff Children’s Physicians, and the UCSF Faculty Practice. These hospitals serve as the academic medical center of the University of California, San Francisco, which is world-renowned for its graduate-level health sciences education and biomedical research. UCSF Health has affiliations with hospitals and health organizations throughout the Bay Area.