For the second year in a row, Kansas University Hospital landed 12 specialties — ranging from heart surgery to cancer care — on the U.S. News and World Report “Best Hospitals” list, according to the hospital.

KU Hospital ranked in the top 50 of hospitals nationwide in all 12 “data-driven” specialties, or specialties ranked on safety and outcomes rather than reputation alone, according to hospital leaders.

The 2015-16 U.S. News hospital rankings, expected to be released Tuesday, rank hospitals in a total of 16 specialties.

“We have really had an ongoing focus on quality and safety, and that focus has led to the strong performance,” said Tammy Peterman, the hospital’s executive vice president, chief nursing officer and chief operating officer. “As a patient, all of those things are important.”

Hospital CEO Bob Page said the repeat rankings indicate consistency. He said consistency across multiple specialties is important because many patients don’t come in with just one issue.

“The benefit of an academic medical center is, we have all the specialties under one roof,” Page said.

Highlights include KU’s cardiology and heart surgery program (ranked 26th) making the list each of the nine years it was eligible, and the nephrology (kidney) program (ranked 38th) ranked for the seventh of nine possible years, Peterman and Page said. KU’s cancer program (ranked 31st) make the list for the fifth year in a row.

Overall, U.S. News named KU Hospital the “Best Hospital in Kansas City” for the sixth year in a row and the “The Best Hospital in Kansas” the fourth year in a row, according to the hospital.

U.S. News evaluates approximately 5,000 hospitals nationwide and bases rankings largely on objective data on hospital performance, such as patient survival rates and resources like nurse staffing, according to the magazine. Each hospital’s reputation, as determined by a survey of physician specialists, is also a factor.

KU Hospital specialty rankings

For the second year in a row, U.S. News and World Report ranked Kansas University Hospital in the top 50 of hospitals nationwide in all 12 data-driven specialties, the hospital reported. The programs and their rankings:

• Cancer — 31

• Cardiology and Heart Surgery — 26

• Diabetes and Endocrinology — 26 (tie)

• Ear, Nose and Throat — 21

• Gastroenterology and GI Surgery — 32

• Geriatrics — 17

• Gynecology — 41 (tie)

• Nephrology — 38

• Neurology and Neurosurgery — 19

• Orthopedics — 34 (tie)

• Pulmonology — 17

• Urology — 38 (tie)

U.S. News ranks hospitals in a total of 16 categories. The others are Ophthalmology, Psychiatry, Rehabilitation and Rheumatology.