Nearly 140 Penn State Hershey physicians named Best Doctors in America

One hundred thirty-eight Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center physicians were selected for inclusion in Best Doctors In America 2008 database, more than any other health care organization in the central Pennsylvania region. Best Doctors is a nationally recognized database that contains names and professional profiles of physicians chosen through a peer-review survey in which thousands of physicians are asked to name the best clinical practitioners in their specialties.

"The inclusion of nearly one quarter of our physicians in the Best Doctors database reaffirms that our providers are respected nationally by their peers for their clinical excellence, innovation and commitment to our patients," says Harold L. Paz, Medical Center chief executive officer, senior vice president for health affairs and dean of Penn State College of Medicine.

Only 5 percent of the doctors in America earn a spot on the list. The 138 Penn State Hershey Medical Center physicians chosen for the list represent nearly 24 percent of the more than 600 clinical faculty at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. Thirteen Penn State Hershey specialists were selected for more than one category.

The current listing, Best Doctors in America 2008, created by Best Doctors Inc., results from polling of 40,000 physicians in the United States. Doctors in more than 400 subspecialties of medicine appear on this year's list. In a confidential review, current "best doctors" answer the question, "If you or a loved one needed a doctor in your specialty, to whom would you refer?” Only those who earn the consensus support of their peers and meet additional research criteria are included on the list.

Best Doctors Inc. evaluates the review results, verifying licensure, certification and disciplinary actions. The experts that are part of the Best Doctors in America database provide the most advanced medical knowledge to patients with serious conditions. 

Best Doctors’ surveys are designed to mimic the informal peer-to-peer referral process that physicians themselves use to determine appropriate specialists for individual cases. Doctors cannot pay to be included in the database nor are they paid to be in the database. Doctors do not have to purchase anything to be included.

For a complete listing of the Penn State Hershey Medical Center providers named to the 2008 Best Doctors list, go to http://www.pennstatehershey.org or for more information visit http://www.bestdoctors.com.