Top hospitals in San Diego, CA

Choosing a hospital and choosing your doctor are essential to your health and wellbeing. There are a variety of factors that go into choosing a hospital such as:

  • Word of mouth from other patients
  • Recommendations from doctors
  • Reputation and brand
  • Location and accessibility
  • Health insurance coverage

Of course, if you or a family member has an emergency and calls 911, you will want to be taken to the nearest hospital. The most important thing is to get medical attention ASAP. However, if you have a less acute or severe condition, you may want to assess your options. Perhaps, you will decide on a facility further away to receive better care. 

Every year, U.S. News & World Report, ranks and rates hospitals throughout the United States. Rankings for specialties are meant for patients with life-threatening or rare conditions and who need a hospital that excels in the treatment of complex, high-risk cases.

Ratings of hospitals procedures and conditions focuses on specific and more commonly required individual procedures and conditions rather than on broader specialties such as cardiology or orthopedics. The goal of these ratings is to assess how well a hospital performs in each procedure or condition and on a full range of patients.

So, according to the U.S. News & World Report, what are the top hospitals in San Diego? 

Try one of these three

U.S. News & World Report has ranked the following as the top 3 hospitals in San Diego:

  • 1. UC San Diego Health-Jacobs Medical Center
  • 2. Scripps La Jolla Hospitals
  • 3. Sharp Memorial Hospital 

Each of these three hospitals is nationally ranked in one to 15 adult specialties as well as high performing in adult specialties as well as procedures/conditions.

Reputation matters

While the location of a hospital may be a key factor, its reputation can do a lot to help attract patients, reputable doctors, qualified staff, and recommendations from referring physicians. Unfortunately, over the years, there have been numerous complaints against Kaiser in San Diego. These complaints range from long ER wait times to limiting the number of contracted specialists that are available to see and treat patients.

Another reason that Kaiser has developed a bad reputation with many of its members is a result of their policy, instituted in 1978, of forcing patients who have claims of medical malpractice into using their private arbitration system. Many victims of medical malpractice have complained that this process makes it difficult for them to receive full compensation for their injuries.

If you are a member of the Kaiser Permanente HMO and believe that you have been a victim of medical malpractice due to negligence that occurred at a Kaiser hospital, contact Scott S. Harris, one of the top medical malpractice attorneys in San Diego with experience dealing with Kaiser’s arbitration process.