Doctor survey names top US hospitals

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Doctor survey names top US hospitals

NEW YORK, Mar 28 (Reuters) - North Shore University Hospital in

Manhasset, NY, ranked first in the Consumer's Checkbook survey of 1,308

metropolitan US hospitals, the non-profit consumer education group said

on Wednesday.

The hospital based in the suburbs of New York City had 79% of physicians

rate the care as " very good " or " excellent " for high risk adult surgery,

compared with an average hospital's 33%, Consumer's Checkbook said in a

survey that will be published in the AARP's Modern Maturity magazine.

Overall, four of the top 10 hospitals in the survey were located in New

York.

Hugh Delehanty, editorial director for Modern Maturity, said the survey

helps inform consumers about their health care choices and to help

customers push hospitals into improving their standards.

" There is an appalling gap in the quality we get and the quality we

could get if we had higher standards, " Delehanty said.

Other factors taken into account in the survey include risk-adjusted

mortality, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care

Organizations scores and the extent of training that a hospital provides

physicians, Consumer's Checkbook said.

More than 20,000 physicians were surveyed nationwide. Consumer's

Checkbook also analyzed federal records of 30 million hospital patients

stays and adjusted them for age and diagnosis.

Eight of the top 50 hospitals rated were located in northern New Jersey

or New York City and its suburbs, the survey said.

North Shore University also ranked among the top 10 hospitals for

cardiac care and cardio-vascular surgery.

Other hospitals ranked in the top 10 include:

-- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles;

-- St. Francis Hospital, Roslyn, New York;

-- NYU Medical Center, New York;

-- Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago;

-- Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan;

-- Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia;

-- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York;

-- UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles;

-- Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge, Illinois.