US weekly magazine Newsweek and data platform Statista have published their annual ranking of the World’s Best Hospitals — regardless of specialty — for the eighth time. In addition to 32 national rankings, the list also includes an international comparison of the top 250 hospitals. Countries were selected based on several comparative factors, including standard of living, life expectancy, population size, number of hospitals, and data availability. The ranking is based on physician recommendations, patient satisfaction surveys, and medical performance indicators measuring quality of care and hygiene standards. Voting for one’s own hospital is not permitted.

According to the global data platform Statista, the number of hospitals worldwide is expected to reach 216,000 this year. More than 2500 hospitals were evaluated for the current ranking.

Top 10 Hospitals Worldwide

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, ranked No. 1 for the fifth straight year. There were changes, however, just behind it: Toronto General Hospital and the Cleveland Clinic swapped places at No. 2 and No. 3. Stockholm’s Karolinska University Hospital also improved by one spot to No. 4, making it the highest-ranked hospital in Europe. Hospitals from Europe and the German-speaking region also placed prominently in the global top 10, including Charité in Berlin and University Hospital Zürich.

1. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
2. Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
3. Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland
4. Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
5. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
6. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
7. Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel
8. Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
9. University Hospital Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
10. Singapore General Hospital, Singapore

Top 10 Hospitals in Germany

Among German hospitals, Charité led the national ranking, while Heidelberg University Hospital and LMU Klinikum ranked second and third. Charité also ranked No. 8 globally, making it the highest-placed hospital in Germany and one of Europe’s top performers. Both Heidelberg University Hospital and LMU Klinikum also improved their positions in the international comparison. TUM University Hospital rose to No. 4 nationally, while Tübingen University Hospital returned to Germany’s top 10.

1. Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (global rank 8)
2. Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg (global rank 12)
3. LMU Klinikum, Munich (global rank 17)
4. TUM University Hospital, Munich (formerly Klinikum rechts der Isar at the Technical University of Munich; global rank 35)
5. University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg (global rank 44)
6. Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau (global rank 60)
7. Hannover Medical School, Hanover (global rank 64)
8. University Hospital Cologne, Cologne (global rank 65)
9. Tübingen University Hospital, Tübingen (global rank 100)
10. University Hospital Erlangen, Erlangen (global rank 106)

Top 10 Hospitals in Switzerland

In Switzerland, University Hospital Zürich again ranks first, as it did last year. In the international comparison, the Zürich hospital improved further and now ranks ninth, directly behind Charité. New at No. 2 in Switzerland is Geneva University Hospitals (known locally by the French name Les Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève) which is ahead of Lausanne University Hospital. University Hospital Basel, which ranked second last year, rounds out the top 4 this year.

1. University Hospital Zürich, Zürich (global rank 9)
2. Les Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, Geneva (global rank 19)
3. Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne (global rank 21)
4. University Hospital Basel, Basel (global rank 23)
5. Klinik Hirslanden, Zürich (global rank 56)
6. Lindenhofspital, Bern (global rank 123)
7. Inselspital, Bern (global rank 131)
8. Claraspital Basel, Basel (global rank 139)
9. Hirslanden Klinik Aarau, Aarau (outside the global top 250)
10. Hirslanden Klinik Im Park, Zürich (outside the global top 250)

Top 10 Hospitals in Austria

Austria’s top 5 hospitals are unchanged this year, although all improved in the international ranking. In Austria’s national list, University Hospital Vienna/Medical University of Vienna ranked first again, ahead of Innsbruck University Hospital and Kepler University Hospital.

1. University Hospital Vienna, Vienna (global rank 20)
2. University Hospital Innsbruck, Innsbruck (global rank 53)
3. Kepler University Hospital, Linz (global rank 91)
4. University Hospital Graz, Graz (global rank 101)
5. University Hospital Salzburg, Salzburg (global rank 125)
6. Ordensklinikum Linz Elisabethinen, Linz (global rank 160)
7. My Hanusch Hospital, Vienna (global rank 162)
8. Krankenhaus St. Vinzenz Zams, Zams (outside the global top 250)
9. Kardinal Schwarzenberg Klinikum, Schwarzach im Pongau (outside the global top 250)
10. Barmherzige Schwestern Krankenhaus Wien (outside the global top 250)

Ranking Methodology

The World’s Best Hospitals ranking lists the best hospitals in the following 32 countries: the US, Germany, Japan, South Korea, France, Italy, the UK, Spain, Brazil, Canada, India, Australia, Mexico, Netherlands, Austria, Thailand, Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Israel, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Colombia, Taiwan, Chile, Malaysia, Turkey, and the Philippines. Countries were selected based on several comparative factors, including standard of living, life expectancy, population size, number of hospitals, and data availability. The ranking is based on four data sources, each weighted differently:

Online survey of medical experts. Physicians, hospital managers, and other healthcare professionals from 30 countries were asked to recommend hospitals in their own country and abroad. Their own hospital could not be named. (30% national, 5% international)
Results from patient surveys. Questions covered topics such as overall satisfaction with the hospital, satisfaction with medical care, and whether patients would recommend the institution. (18.5%)
Hospital quality metrics. Publicly available data such as quality of care, hygiene measures, patient safety, and data on the number of patients per physician and nurse. (40%)
Implementation of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs). For the fourth year, a PROM implementation score was included in the evaluation model. PROMs are standardized and validated questionnaire completed by patients to assess their subjective state of health. (6.5%)

Each hospital was assigned a score based on the data collected. The scores were only comparable among hospitals within the same country because different sources for patient experience data and medical key performance indicators were used in each country. Comparisons of scores across countries were not possible. For example, a score of 90 in Country A does not necessarily mean that the hospital is better than a hospital with a score of 87 in Country B. The international list of the top 250 hospitals was compiled using the respective national scores and the number of international recommendations. The global comparison did not include specialized institutions. The ranking was also validated by a panel of renowned experts.

The number of recognized hospitals per country varied depending on the number of hospitals there and the availability of data. The US had the highest number of recognized hospitals (420), while Israel and Singapore were each represented by 10 hospitals. A total of 2530 hospitals were evaluated in this eighth edition of the ranking.

This story was translated and adapted from Coliquio, part of the Medscape Professional Network.