In a recent nationwide poll, medical experts rated three Harvard-affiliated hospitals the best in the country, and awarded several other Harvard hospitals second-and third-place standings.

Some 250 hospital presidents and Chiefs-of-staff from medical centers across the country praised Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the Shriners Burns Institute and Boston Children's Hospital, all Harvard-affiliated, as offering the best patient care within their fields. The poll results were published in this month's Good Housekeeping magazine.

In addition, Harvard's McLean psychiatric hospital, the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute received second, third and fourth place ratings respectively in their fields.

Revealing Question

The polled medical experts were asked one question: "Which hospitals-other than your own-do you consider the most outstanding in terms of patient care?" said Maxine Abrams, a freelance writer who helped Good Housekeeping conduct the poll.

Almost all the doctors at the award winning Boston hospitals also serve as professors at the Medical School.

"We've all heard that Boston's supposed to be the medical Mecca of the world". Martin S. Bander, deputy to the director of MGH and spokesman for many of the Harvard hospitals, said last week. "It's nice to see 250 experts confirm this belief."

MGH has pioneered research in cardiology in recent years, and has earned worldwide fame for recent heart transplant operations. The institution was rated higher than the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland and the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

In the Forefront

Harvard hospitals "try to keep in the forefront of developing new techniques and our patients get the benefit of these techniques more quickly than other hospitals," Bander said.

Bander added that he feels the hospitals offer excellent care for patients because they are also heavily involved in research: "I believe that their combination of outstanding caretakers and research staff which brings medical advances to patients and thus provides the highest quality care".

"Another factor which makes MGH a standard is that we have able to attract and retain physicians in specialties and sub-specialties," Bander said.