University of California’s five medical centers rank among the nation’s best hospitals, featuring the top two in the West, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual survey. The magazine evaluated 4,852 hospitals nationally in 16 specialties for the 2010-11 America’s Best Hospitals survey, reviewing patient safety, reputation and other factors. Just 152 made the rankings and only 14 entered the honor roll by scoring high in six or more specialties.

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center ranked fifth nationally to make the honor roll and was best in the western United States for the 21st consecutive year. UCLA ranked in the top 20 nationally in 15 of the 16 specialties. For the first time, Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital was ranked in two of the 16 specialties: neurology and neurosurgery, and orthopaedics.

UC San Francisco Medical Center ranked seventh nationally, also earning honor roll status with its 10th straight appearance in the top 10. UCSF placed among the top 10 nationally in nine specialties: cancer, diabetes and endocrine disorders, gynecology, kidney disorders, neurology and neurosurgery, ophthalmology, pulmonology disorders, rheumatology, and urology. UCSF is the top-ranked California facility in four specialties: cancer, gynecology, neurology and neurosurgery, and pulmonology.

In addition, UC San Diego Medical Center ranked among the top 50 hospitals nationally in five specialties: diabetes and endocrine disorders, geriatrics, orthopedics, psychiatry, and pulmonology. UC Irvine Medical Center, which made the Best Hospitals roster for the 10th consecutive year, ranked in three specialties: ear, nose and throat; gynecology; and urology. UC Davis Medical Center ranked in two specialties: cancer and orthopedics.

Survey results are available online now and on newsstands July 27. Overall, Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore ranked first; the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., was second; Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston was third; and the Cleveland Clinic was fourth. New York-Presbyterian University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell was sixth.

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