Best hospitals for Pulmonology: A data-based guide to leading respiratory-care centers

What the rankings measure

For readers researching the best hospitals for Pulmonology, the supplied evidence points to two different comparison frameworks. Newsweek’s America’s Best Hospitals for Specialized Care 2026 evaluates pulmonary care using clinical performance, patient outcomes, expert input, patient experience data, hospital quality metrics, and Statista’s Patient-Reported Outcome Measures survey. Its listed specialties include asthma, COPD, pulmonary hypertension, pleural disease, respiratory infections, advanced thoracic surgery, and lung transplantation. 1

Newsweek’s global pulmonology ranking is broader geographically and identifies hospitals specializing in respiratory medicine rather than presenting a single universal measure of individual physician quality. Mayo Clinic Rochester ranks first, followed by Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and National Jewish Health. The ranking also includes hospitals in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, South Korea, and other countries, providing an international context for complex pulmonary care. 2

Leading hospitals in the United States

The 2026 global list places Mayo Clinic Rochester first in pulmonology, Cleveland Clinic second, Johns Hopkins Hospital third, Massachusetts General Hospital fourth, and National Jewish Health fifth. Other highly placed U.S. institutions include NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, UCSF Medical Center, Mount Sinai Hospital, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, Stanford Health Care, and Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. These positions indicate recognition at the institutional level, not a guarantee of a particular result for an individual patient. 2

Specialty strengths that may matter

Pulmonology covers substantially different clinical needs. UCSF’s Newsweek profile lists advanced pulmonary surgery, lung transplantation, asthma, COPD, pleural diseases, pulmonary hypertension, and respiratory infections among its standout areas. UCSF also reported that its medical center was ranked first nationally for pulmonology and lung surgery in the supplied 2026 to 2027 U.S. News material. The institution’s lung transplant program treats complex end-stage lung disease, including cystic fibrosis, alpha-1 antitrypsin-related emphysema, and interstitial lung disease. 1 3 7

Other hospitals emphasize different combinations of subspecialty expertise. Cleveland Clinic’s Respiratory Institute includes transplant pulmonology, and physician Carli Lehr specializes in advanced lung disease before and after transplantation. Johns Hopkins physician Meredith McCormack focuses on obstructive lung disease, asthma, COPD, pulmonary physiology, and precision asthma medicine. National Jewish Health has also been recognized for pulmonology and lung surgery, with high-performing ratings reported for COPD, lung cancer surgery, and pneumonia. 4 8 9

• Asthma and COPD require expertise in chronic respiratory management.
• Pulmonary hypertension and interstitial lung disease may require multidisciplinary assessment.
• Lung transplantation involves evaluation before transplantation and long-term follow-up afterward.
• Thoracic oncology and lung surgery may involve coordination among pulmonary, surgical, oncology, and radiology teams.

Additional recognized pulmonary-care programs

The American specialized-care list also includes hospitals recognized for pulmonary care beyond the highest global positions. UConn John Dempsey Hospital was named among Newsweek’s America’s Best Hospitals for Specialized Care in Pulmonology in 2026. UConn described its approach as multidisciplinary, involving pulmonology, cardiology, thoracic surgery, oncology, radiology, and related fields for complex lung conditions. This recognition was based on quality metrics, a nationwide professional survey, patient experience data, and PROMs implementation information. 6

Montefiore Einstein describes a pulmonary and sleep-medicine service covering shortness of breath, COPD, obstructive sleep apnea, pulmonary hypertension, asthma, bronchiectasis, thoracic oncology, and lung transplantation. Its specialists coordinate with cardiology, otorhinolaryngology, thoracic surgery, oncology, infectious disease, allergy, and immunology. Such descriptions show why the relevant comparison is often a program’s fit with a specific diagnosis rather than its overall rank alone. 5

How to interpret hospital rankings

Rankings are useful orientation tools, but their methodologies differ. Newsweek’s global list supplies an ordered international comparison, while the U.S. specialized-care list describes pulmonary care through clinical performance, patient outcomes, expert input, patient experience, and PROMs. The supplied data does not provide complete PROM scores for the listed hospitals, so a blank or absent PROM field should not be treated as either a positive or negative outcome. Comparisons should therefore distinguish published rank from underlying evidence. 1 2

Hospital-reported honors also require careful reading. UCSF’s announcement concerns a broad U.S. News Honor Roll recognition and a pulmonology and lung-surgery distinction, while National Jewish Health reports a 30th consecutive year of recognition and a joint ranking with UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital. These statements describe different ranking systems, time periods, and institutional arrangements. They should not be merged into a single score or interpreted as proof that one hospital is universally superior for every pulmonary condition. 3 4

Practical limitations and patient fit

A high ranking does not remove the ordinary risks and constraints of complex medical care. A hospital may be strong in lung transplantation but less directly relevant to a patient seeking routine asthma management, pulmonary rehabilitation, sleep medicine, or evaluation of a new respiratory infection. The appropriate program depends on the diagnosis, required procedure, age group, severity, physician assessment, and whether multidisciplinary services are needed. Rankings also do not establish eligibility for a transplant or predict an individual patient’s outcome.

Patients evaluating institutions should verify the specific service, subspecialist, referral requirements, care location, and follow-up structure with the hospital. It is also important to distinguish a hospital’s specialty ranking from a physician’s credentials and from a condition-specific quality designation. For example, UConn emphasizes coordinated academic care, National Jewish Health reports long-term pulmonology recognition, and O’Bleness Hospital received a high-performing U.S. News designation for COPD and pneumonia, illustrating that meaningful respiratory-care recognition can apply to different levels and types of service. 4 6 10

Sources

1. Newsweek, America’s Best Hospitals for Specialized Care 2026: Pulmonary Care
2. Newsweek, World’s Best Specialized Hospitals 2026: Pulmonology
3. UCSF Health, 30th Consecutive U.S. News Best Hospitals Honor Roll
4. National Jewish Health, 2026 U.S. News Pulmonology Recognition
5. Montefiore Einstein Advanced Care, Pulmonology Services
6. UConn Today, UConn John Dempsey Hospital Pulmonary-Care Recognition
7. UCSF Health, Steven Hays, MD
8. Johns Hopkins Medicine, Meredith McCormack, MD
9. Cleveland Clinic, Carli Lehr, MD, PhD
10. OhioHealth, O’Bleness Hospital COPD and Pneumonia Ratings