"Best hospitals": a description of the methodology for the Index of Hospital Quality.

Starting in 1991, U.S. News & World Report has published an annual cover story. "America's Best Hospitals," for which the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) has provided the underlying data. Since 1993, the rankings have been based on a combination of data, including physicians' nominations, the American Hospital Association's Annual Survey of Hospitals database, and mortality data from the Health Care Financing Administration. This article reports on the theoretical framework and methodological design of the "Index of Hospital Quality" used in the U.S. News & World Report rankings.