The annual U.S. News and World Report (USNWR) rankings came out today. I am delighted to report that Orthopaedics at Duke University Hospital remained ranked first in the southeast U.S., second amongst the ranked specialties at Duke University Hospital (first among the specialties using data for ranking rather than reputation only), and No. 22 overall.
USNWR changed its methodology this year, focusing more on publicly available outcome data, and this caused a downward trend for all the hospitals in the southeast, perhaps related to patient demographics, so our stable rating is good news.
As an example, we are the only ranked orthopaedic department in North Carolina. While this ranking is only a surrogate of an institution's quality, they provide insight into where we are doing well and where we might improve. We continue to have a fantastic reputation for tackling the most complex cases, but we fell in a few clinical areas and will investigate this in the coming year.
Thanks to all of you for your hard work in providing exceptional, high-quality care and continuing focus on quality and improving patient outcomes.
All the best,
Ben