Find a 'Best' Hospital for Diabetes

Most medical problems can be cured or fixed, but diabetes isn't one of them. It is a lifelong condition, kept in check by driving down blood glucose to a healthy level and keeping it tightly controlled with a combination of medications that lower blood sugar, proper diet, regular exercise, and other lifestyle changes. A hospital stay due to diabetes-related complications, like nerve pain or circulatory problems, should not happen—it means the disease wasn't properly managed. Moreover, a hospital stay for any reason exposes diabetic patients to special dangers. A patient whose blood sugar is too high has an increased risk of infection and will be slower to heal if surgery is needed. Maintaining good blood sugar control is particularly challenging in a hospital setting, however. No matter how diligent the care, it won't match the regimen a patient might have meticulously crafted. If a patient is on insulin, the hospital may use a different form—rapid-acting rather than the patient's long-acting version—or administer the wrong dose. (Insulin errors are among the most frequent serious medical mistakes in hospitals.) Meals are likely to be served at different times than a patient is accustomed to, and are not portion-controlled. Blood thinners, blood pressure drugs, pain relievers, and other medications can affect glucose levels. So can the emotional stress of being in the hospital. Moreover, diabetic patients often arrive with other chronic conditions that complicate treatment, such as heart disease and respiratory problems. The 50 diabetes centers ranked in the latest edition of Best Hospitals, released last month by U.S. News & World Report, bring together teams of specialists to deal with these multiple difficulties. The top 10 are shown below, followed by information about what makes a good diabetes center, how to determine whether one is needed, and advice on how to get admitted. The Best Hospitals in Diabetes & Endocrinology Rank Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore University of California, San Francisco Medical Center Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles Cleveland Clinic New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Conn. Barnes-Jewish Hospital/Washington University, St. Louis Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston

[See the full list of Best Hospitals in Diabetes & Endocrinology.]