Details on the awards

For the 2027 Specialty Excellence Awards, Healthgrades evaluated U.S. hospitals' performances and assessed the clinical outcomes of 31 procedures and conditions across 19 specialty care areas, including:

• Cardiac care
• Cardiac surgery
• Cardiology
• Coronary intervention
• Vascular surgery
• Orthopedic surgery
• Joint replacement
• Spine surgery
• Prostate surgery
• Stroke care
• Neurosurgery
• Neurosciences
• Pulmonary care
• Critical care
• Overall GI care
• GI surgery
• GI medical care
• Surgical care
• Emergency hospitalization

Hospitals were then awarded between one and five stars to signify their performance. To measure performance, Healthgrades used Medicare inpatient data from the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review file provided by CMS for 2023 through 2025 .

The top 15% of hospitals specializing in these areas received the Specialty Excellence Award. From this list of recipients, Healthgrades highlighted America's 100 Best Hospitals for Specialty Care in 11 areas and America's 50 Best Hospitals for Specialty Care in four areas. To access the list of Specialty Excellence Award recipients and see if your hospital was among them, click here.

Healthgrades also ranked the top three or five eligible hospitals across 19 specialties in 30 eligible states to help "consumers find local hospitals that excel in their condition or procedure."

In addition, Healthgrades ranked awarded hospitals excelling at outpatient orthopedic surgery, outpatient joint replacement, and outpatient prostate care, noting that these hospitals are "national leaders in these outpatient procedure areas."

Key insights

According to Healthgrades, the disparity between top performers and one-star hospitals has continued to grow over the years.

Healthgrades found that, between 2023 and 2025, if all hospitals had performed at the level of five-star facilities, 227,229 lives could have been saved, and 158,138 complications could have been avoided.

"Our specialty awards identify the nation's top-performing hospitals across numerous medical specialties, helping consumers find high-quality care tailored to their specific needs," said Alana Biggers, medical advisor at Healthgrades. "Navigating the complex healthcare system can feel daunting, but taking a proactive stance to understand where to access superior care can enhance your healthcare journey and overall experience. The ability to make informed decisions about your health — and where to get care — is a cornerstone of self-advocacy, and we are proud to help make that information accessible to all patients."