These MA Hospitals Are Among America's Best For 2022

BOSTON — Massachusetts is home to some of the top 5 percent of hospitals in the country, according to a new 2022 ratings released by Healthgrades Tuesday.

Healthgrades ranked 2022's top 50, 100, and 250 best hospitals, recognizing the top one, two, and five percent of hospitals in the country for clinical excellence.

To assess overall hospital quality, Healthgrades analyzed the clinical performance of nearly 4,500 hospitals nationwide across more than 31 of the most common procedures and conditions.

To help create non-biased ratings, Healthgrades does not take into consideration perception or popularity in analyzing and rating hospitals. Recipients of these quality awards have consistently delivered better than expected clinical outcomes for their patients.

To measure performance and evaluate hospitals for overall clinical excellence, Healthgrades used Medicare inpatient data from the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review file purchased from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from 2018 through 2020.

Statistics are based on Healthgrades analysis of patient data for 31 conditions or procedures for every hospital in the country, representing 3-year estimates for Medicare patients only. These conditions and procedures include things from pacemaker procedures to hip replacements to sepsis or stroke treatments.

In Massachusetts, one hospital was ranked in the top one percent of hospitals for clinical excellence, two hospitals were in the top two percent, and three hospitals were in the top five percent. Here's the kicker - all six of them are located on the North Shore.

Here are Healthgrades' top-ranking hospitals for clinical excellence in Massachusetts:

America's 50 Best Hospital Awards (Top 1%)

• Lahey Hospital and Medical Center - Burlington, MA

America's 100 Best Hospital Awards (Top 2%)

• MelroseWakefield Hospital - Melrose, MA
• Lawrence Memorial Hospital of Medford - Medford, MA.

America's 250 Best Hospital Awards (Top 5%)

• Lawrence General Hospital - Lawrence, MA
• North Shore Medical Center -Salem, MA
• North Shore Medical Center Union Hospital - Lynn, MA

Considering hospital quality when choosing a doctor is often overlooked despite being a possibly life-changing decision. A recent Healthgrades survey revealed only 22 percent of U.S. adults reported that they considered hospital quality the last time they selected a specialist. By offering easy access to data-driven hospital ratings, Healthgrades says they can connect consumers with the providers and hospitals who are right for their care needs.

"It is crucial to know the top-performing hospitals in your community and look to these centers of clinical excellence to support you and your family's health long-term," said Burt Kann, EVP and Head of Product at Healthgrades. "Many individuals choose a specialist without considering the quality of the hospital where that doctor treats patients."

With a goal of helping people make confident healthcare decisions by enabling the evaluation and comparison of hospital performance to find the highest quality care, Healthgrades listed their full findings to compare.

For the full list of award recipients, click here.

For a full description of the methodology, click here.