UC Health Docs, University Hospital Among Nation’s Best

UC Physicians Fill Top Doctors List, ENT and Pulmonology Earn High Marks

Doctors with UC Health and programs based at University Hospital have been named among the nation’s best by U.S.News & World Report.  The U.S. News “Top Doctors” list was developed in collaboration with data from Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., publisher of America’s Top Doctors. Those named to the list are based on peer nominations from doctors across the country.

More than half of the 111 doctors in Greater Cincinnati named to the “Top Doctors” list practice at University of Cincinnati Physicians, and 100 of the 111 have a UC connection through faculty status, medical school completion and/or residency training.

“These rankings offer powerful testament to the strength of the UC connection to health care in our region,” says Myles Pensak, MD, chief executive officer of UC Physicians and H.B. Broidy Professor and Chair of the UC Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. “The specialists with UC Physicians are highly regarded and are well deserving of this honor.”

University Hospital’s ear, nose and throat program ranked No. 21, up from No. 22 in the 2010-11 rankings. The report cites the program’s significant reputation with specialists, high nursing staffing and high level of advanced technologies among the reasons for this ranking. The pulmonology program was ranked No. 45 with high marks for nursing staffing and advanced technologies, as well as the number of patient services provided. The program was not ranked last year.

U.S.News considered nearly 5,000 hospitals for its rankings, but only 140 were ranked in one or more specialties. The news magazine ranked 16 specialties in total and called University Hospital “high-performing” in 10 of those: cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology, geriatrics, gynecology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics and urology. The 2011-12 Best Hospitals Guide and Top Doctors rankings are available at usnews.com.

“Top Doctors” Breakdown:

  • Of the 111 “Top Doctors,” 85 are UC faculty members
  • 52 of the 85 faculty members on the Top Doctors list have primary appointments at University Hospital.
  • U.S.News did not rank the doctors but did identify those doctors who in Castle Connolly’s estimation were among the top 1 percent in the United States in their specialty. Forty-two of the 51 doctors from the Greater Cincinnati region identified in this subgroup are UC faculty members.

Click the links below to see which UC Health physicians were named to the list.

James J. Augsburger, MDOphthalmology

David Bernstein, MDAllergy & Immunology

Jonathan Bernstein, MDAllergy & Immunology

David A. Billmire, MD – Plastic Surgery

Joseph Broderick, MDNeurology

Robert Cohen, MDEndocrinology

David D’ Alessio, MDEndocrinology

James F. Donovan, Jr., MDUrology

Michael J. Edwards, MDSurgery

Edward J. Holland, MD – Ophthalmology

Richard J. Kagan, MDSurgery

Michael Luggen, MDRheumatologist

Jeffrey A. Nerad, MDOphthalmology

Austin Nobunaga, MDPhysical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Robert H. Osher, MD – Ophthalmology

Joseph Palascak, MDHematology/Oncology

Myles Pensak, MDOtolaryngology

Janice Rafferty, MDColon & Rectal Surgery

J. Michael Smith, MDCardiac Surgery

Peter Stern, MDHand Surgery

Stephen Strakowski, MDPsychiatry

Ronald Warnick, MDNeurosurgery

Nelson Watts, MDEndocrinology

Keith Wilson, MDOtolaryngology

Virgil Wooten, MDSleep Medicine


Todd Abruzzo, MDRadiology

Michael Archdeacon, MDOrthopaedic Surgery

William Barrett, MDRadiation Oncology

Mark Bibler, MDGeneral Internal Medicine

R. Bruce Bracken, MDUrology

Mercedes Falciglia, MDEndocrinology

Carl J. Fichtenbaum, MDInfectious Diseases

David Fischer, MDGeneral Surgery

Krishnanath Gaitonde, MDUrology

Norman Gillinsky, MDGastroenterology

Mark Goddard, MDPhysical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Karl C. Golnick, MDOphthalmology

David B. Hom, MDOtolaryngology

J. Lawrence Houk, MDRheumatology

Daniel Kanter, MDNeurology

Keith Kenter, MDOrthopaedic Surgery

W. John Kitzmiller, MDPlastic Surgery

Charles Kuntz IV, MDNeurosurgery

Steven R. Lindheim, MDReproductive Endocrinology

Bradley Mathis, MDGeneral Internal Medicine

Diya Mutasim, MDDermatology

Michael L. Nordlund, MD – Ophthalmology

Michael Privitera, MDNeurology

W. Edward Richards, MDGynecologic Oncology

Ravi Samy, MDOtolaryngology

Joshua Sands, MDOphthalmology

Allen Seiden, MDOtolaryngology

Elizabeth Shaughnessy, MDSurgical Oncology

David Steward, MDOtolaryngology

Michael Thomas, MDReproductive Endocrinology

Neal Weintraub, MDCardiovascular Disease

Mario Zuccarello, MDNeurosurgery

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