U.S. News & World Report has named Emory Hospital one of America’s Best Hospitals in seven medical specialties, including cardiology, where Emory is again included in the Top 10 for the 13th time since the magazine’s rankings began in 1990.

This year Emory’s program in heart and heart surgery finished seventh (up from No. 8 last year) and was the only heart program in Georgia included in the nation’s top 50.

Also included in this year’s rankings were Emory’s programs in eye care (15), geriatrics (41), gynecology (39), kidney disease (28), psychiatry (17) and urology (32). Each of those programs were the only ones in Georgia listed in their specialty areas, as well.

“We are delighted that the Emory Heart Center has been acknowledged once again as one of the most highly regarded cardiology centers in the United States,” said center Director Douglas Morris. “We believe the fact our U.S. News and World Report ranking has risen a notch reflects the growing recognition among our medical colleagues across the nation that Emory provides some of the very best cardiology care available anywhere.”

“Emory’s consistent presence in the U.S. News rankings underscores our commitment to the highest standards of achievement in delivering the best medical care,” said John Fox, president and chief executive officer of Emory Healthcare. “Emory Hospital is singled out because of the nature of the rankings structure, but these high rankings reflect the quality of all the components of the healthcare system.”

This year’s rankings, within 17 specialty areas, included 203 top medical centers culled from an initial group of 6,003 hospitals across the country. They represent hospitals that are members of the Council of Teaching Hospitals, are affiliated with a medical school, and/or have advanced medical technology.

According to the magazine, these medical centers excel because their doctors perform large numbers of difficult and risky procedures; they adhere more closely to advanced treatment guidelines; they more frequently incorporate new findings into patient care; and they conduct research that gives very ill patients additional treatment options.

“To be recognized again as one of America’s best hospitals—and in so many specialties—is a credit and tribute to our physicians and also our nurses, medical technologists and support staff across the health care system,” said Michael Johns, chief executive officer of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center.

Thirteen of the 17 specialty areas ranked by U.S. News were assessed on a quality-of-care index that assigned equal weight to reputation, patient mortality, and a mix of other factors including ratio of nurses to beds and the presence of various technology services. Eye care, psychiatry, rehabilitation and pediatrics are ranked solely on their professional reputation, based on a survey of 150 randomly selected, board-certified physicians asked to name the top five programs in their specialty.