The best hospitals in the world

Written by Ramona Gligorea on April 30, 2013. Posted in Around the world, Articles, Organisational performance

People are driven by ambition and we all want to be the best: the best employee, the best company. And we want the best for us: the best phone, the best car, the best house. But what about our health? Although sometimes taken as granted, we have to admit that it is the most precious thing we have because without it, we cannot be the best. So, if we get sick, then probably we want the best care in the world. But which hospitals are the best in the world?

According to healthcareglobal.com, five of the best hospitals in the world are in U.S., three in Europe and two in Asia. The top contains the best 10 hospitals in the world, taking into account aspects like specialization, medical innovation, research, teaching, patient care, recovery and medical tourism. The top also considers their surface, conditions and how eco-friendly they are.

The top:

1. Best in the world: Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, U.S

This hospital has earned its name and the first position in this top. Over the last 20 years, it has been number one in the U.S News and World Report hospital ranking, as it has provided the best services in medical care, teaching and research.

In what concerns the medical innovation, suffice to say it was the first to perform the first male-female sex reassignment. And this is not even by far the most impressive thing. The discovery of restriction enzymes and their application to problems of molecular genetics, made by Werner Arber, Daniel Nathans and Hamilton O. Smith – winning the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1978 for it – was made in this hospital, using its resources, obviously. This discovery basically laid at the very core of the genetic engineering industry.

According to its ranking, the Johns Hopkins Hospital is in top 5 for 15 out of 16 specialties. It is ranked number one for gynecology, neurology and neurosurgery, urology and rheumatology.

2. Largest hospital: Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa

This hospital is the largest hospital in the world: it has 172 buildings, which cover 173 acres and provide 2, 964 patient beds. It serves 3.5 million people in the Soweto area of South Africa, provides 50% of hospital services in Southern Gauteng and it has 5, 000 people employed.

3. Medical innovations: Stanford Hospitals and Clinics

Here, the first successful heart-lung transplant in the world was performed, as well as the first adult heart transplant in America. This hospital is known around the globe for its medical advances and pioneering treatments, for incorporating medical breakthrough into patient care.

4. Children’s hospital: Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK

The Great Ormond Street Hospital was founded in 1852 and it was the first hospital in the English speaking world to provide services for children only, now being one of the world’s leading hospitals in this area. It has become internationally famous especially after receiving the copyrights to J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, with the condition that the amounts earned are not disclosed.

5. Cancer care treatment: University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, U.S

The U.S News and World Report has considered this hospital the best in cancer treatment seven out of the past nine years. The groundbreaking knowledge is quickly transferred and adapted to its clinical patients and in 2010, more than $547 million were invested in research.

6. Medical training: Harvard Medical School, Boston, U.s

Apparently Harvard is the best in every kind of training, whether it is law or medicine. Harvard Med is famous for its research levels and for the primary care it offers. Of course, the budget cannot be overlooked: annually, it spends around $600 million. As they stated, their mission is to “create and nurture a diverse community of the best people committed to leadership in alleviating human suffering caused by disease”.

7. Environmentally friendly: Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

Although still in renovation – which costs €1.8 billion – the 70 year-old hospital is going to be in 2016 “the world’s most environmentally friendly university hospital”, using half of the electricity of the existing hospital, as it’s going to use wind turbines and solar panels.

8. Rehabilitation: The Priory, UK

Famous for its VIP clients, it’s the leader in Europe for its rehabilitation services. It offers first-class treatment for addiction and mental health conditions, as well as psychological and psychiatric services. Most of the patients, more specifically, 96%, declared themselves as being “very satisfied” with the treatment and the conditions offered.

9. Medical tourism: Bumrungrad International Hospital, Bangcock, Thainlad

This hospital treats more than 400, 000 medical tourism patients every year, being known in the entire world for this fact. Patients receive internationally acclaimed medical procedures in a high-class setting compared to a 5 star hotel. It even has an in-house travel agency to organize Visa extensions and its own interpreters to help the international patients and the doctors communicate.

10. Most luxurious hospital: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, U.S

Celebrities love this hospital. The eight floor has 32 “Super Deluxe Suites”, which offer great views over the Hollywood Hills. The price? $ 912 each. Of course, there are other facilities involved: the patients can admire original Picasso paintings and their food is prepared by a gourmet chef. There are four luxurious OB suites, reserved for celebrities ‘soon-to-be moms’, just as they find out they are pregnant.

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