MEDPAGE TODAY – Amid pushback regarding several of the U.S. News & World Report rankings, including those for medical schools and hospitals, the question of payment for use of the company’s logo has resurfaced.
A recent report from the New York Times entitled “U.S. News Makes Money From Some of Its Biggest Critics: Colleges,” detailed how the company sells “badges” to colleges, “so they can promote their rankings.”
Exactly how many hospitals continue to use the U.S. News logo on their websites and other marketing materials — and how much they pay to do so — remains largely unclear.
Of more than 20 hospitals contacted by MedPage Today — including those comprising this year’s U.S. News Honor Roll — few provided any information regarding whether they currently pay to use the the company’s logo. None of the hospitals provided any information regarding the price to do so; neither did U.S. News.
“We do purchase the badge from U.S. News because we’ve learned from consumers that it is effective in advertising,” a spokesperson for Houston Methodist told MedPage Today in an email. “[I]n a competitive city like Houston, it helps validate our credentials as being at the top in quality and patient care.”
A spokesperson for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles also confirmed in an email that it purchased a license to use the U.S. News badge this year.
Christine Clay, senior director of system marketing for Scripps Health in San Diego, told MedPage Today in an email, “There was a time when we did purchase the license to use the badge for U.S. News & World Report; however, we no longer do that.”
Clay further noted that Scripps does not purchase the license for badges from other ranking entities either …
