And the best hospital in the West is ...

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Which local hospital ranked higher than such esteemed institutions as Massachusetts General Hospital and the Cleveland Clinic in the latest national rankings compiled by U.S. News and World Report?

That would be the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, which came in at No. 3 on the prestigious honor roll, released this week.

The magazine assessed 4,861 hospitals in 16 specialties, from cancer to urology. Only 174 hospitals were ranked in the top 50 in at least one of the specialty areas; among them, 21 made the “honor roll” by earning high rankings in six or more specialties. Each of the top three hospitals were ranked in 15 out of 16 categories.

UCLA earned top 10 rankings in 12 specialty areas -- diabetes and endocrine disorders; digestive disorders; ear, nose and throat; geriatric care; gynecology; heart and heart surgery; kidney disorders; neurology and neurosurgery; ophthalmology; psychiatry; rheumatology; and urology. It was also ranked 11th in cancer, 13^th in orthopedics and 17^th in respiratory disorders.

Rankings in each specialty area were determined by a mix of mortality index, defined as “a hospital’s ability to keep patients alive” (32.5%); reputation, as assessed by 200 randomly chosen physicians (32.5%); other care-related factors, such as nurse staffing and use of technology (30%); and patient safety (5%).

Overall top honors went to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, followed by the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Other California hospitals on the honor roll were UC San Francisco Medical Center (No. 7) and Stanford Hospital and Clinics (No. 15).

Among other Southern California hospitals:

• Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles was ranked 10^th for digestive disorders, 15^th for heart and heart surgery, 15^th for neurology and neurosurgery, 19^th for diabetes, 20^th for kidney disorders, 26^th in orthopedics, 29^th in respiratory disorders, 33^rd in geriatrics, 38^th in urology, 44^th for cancer and 49^th for gynecology.
• UC San Diego Medical Center was ranked 14^th for respiratory disorders, 20^th for psychiatry, 21^stfor rheumatology, 39^th for urology, 43^rd for kidney disorders and 47^th in cancer.
• USC’s Doheny Eye Institute ranked 8^th for ophthalmology, 30^th in gynecology, 45^th in neurology and neurosurgery and 48^th in cancer.
• UC Irvine Medical Center was ranked 18^th for urology and 29^th for gynecology.
• City of Hope in Duarte was ranked 22^nd for cancer and 36^th in urology.
• Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey was ranked 18^th in rehabilitation.
• Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego was ranked 38^th in respiratory disorders.
• Long Beach Memorial Medical Center was ranked 44^th in orthopedics.
• St. Joseph Hospital in Orange was ranked 46^th in orthopedics.

-- Karen Kaplan

[Updated 1:15 p.m. July 22]: An earlier version of this post contained incorrect rankings for several Southern California hospitals. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is not ranked in ophthalmology, psychiatry, rehabilitation or rheumatology. Desert Regional Center was not ranked in ophthalmology. Casa Colina Hospital for Rehabilitation was not ranked in rehabilitation. Loma Linda University Medical Center was not ranked in ophthalmology. Del Amo Hospital was not ranked in psychiatry. Huntington Memorial Hospital was not ranked in rheumatology.