Over the last year, hospitals around the world have been evolving to deal with some of the most pressing health care challenges in their communities. Newsweek’s recent ranking of the World’s Best Hospitals 2026 highlights some of the top-performing health systems across 32 countries that are tackling aging populations, rising health care costs and labor shortages through innovation, value-based care and a mission to make top-quality care accessible to those who need it most.

The ranking, made in partnership with global research firm Statista, scores hospitals based on national and international recommendations, patient experience data, Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) implementation and various accreditations.

Each country has its own national ranking, and the ranking compares international hospitals from Europe, Asia, North America and Latin America on a Global Top 250 list.

Below, the top five hospitals in each Latin American country on the ranking share what makes them one of the world’s greatest hospitals.

Brazil: Einstein Hospital Israelita

Einstein Hospital Israelita remains at the top of Brazil’s list for the seventh consecutive year. It also landed at the No. 16 spot on the Global Top 250 list. According to Statista, the São Paulo-based hospital holds two international accreditations and has a “very strong medical quality metric score.” It also has the highest number of national and international recommendations.

“Excellence in care is our core mission,” Dr. Sidney Klajner, president of Einstein Hospital Israelita, told Newsweek over email. “We operate across both private and public healthcare systems in Brazil, which allows us to reach the population in a broad and integrated way. This means we deliver access and quality care not only through our private hospitals and clinics but also public hospitals and primary care units.”

The hospital was founded in 1955 by the Jewish community in São Paulo. Since then, Klajner said it has pioneered initiatives that have helped shape health care in Brazil, such as the introduction of magnetic resonance imaging, robotic surgery, telemedicine and partnership models with the public sector.

Brazil has one of the largest universal public health systems in the world, known as the Single Health System (SUS). Klajner said the greatest challenges facing the local and national communities stem from the combination of an aging population, the rise of chronic diseases, deep inequities in access to care and growing impacts of climate change.

“Promoting health equity is a central commitment of Einstein and is directly linked to its institutional mission,” he said. “In a country marked by profound regional and socioeconomic inequalities such as Brazil, Einstein understands that excellence only makes sense if it is accompanied by concrete social impact. Therefore, one of the actions is strengthening the public healthcare system through the direct management of care facilities, where it replicates quality, safety and efficiency standards comparable to those of its private units.”

This also includes humanitarian outreach in remote regions to deliver care to indigenous communities in the Amazon and partnering with projects to collect public health data that analyzes sanitation, water quality and health indicators in indigenous communities to formulate more effective preventive measures.

Looking ahead, Einstein Hospital Israelita aims to continue strengthening the public health system at its 35 public care facilities, where it delivers care and education for the next generation of health care professionals. Its commitment to sustainable practices, health system resilience and quality also remains paramount, Klajner said.

Chile: Clínica Alemana Vitacura

Efficiency, sustainability, value-based care and innovation are at the core of Clínica Alemana’s mission to become a leading reference in medicine of excellence in Latin America, Medical Director Dr. Bernd Oberpaur told Newsweek in an email.

Over the last year, the hospital, located in Santiago, has made many improvements. Mainly, the creation of the Alemana Integral Health Model, which is designed to support people throughout their lives and help them stay healthy. Primary care physicians and multidisciplinary teams are helping evolve the predominant model in Chile’s private health care system, which Oberpaur said has been historically more focused on fee-for-service care.

According to Statista, its high national reputation score, JCI accreditation and PROMs implementation sets them apart from other hospitals in Chile.

The implementation of PROMs has allowed the hospital to incorporate patients’ perspectives and needs when evaluating the results of treatments. And with the expansion of medical centers, the strengthening of telemedicine and home-based care and the expansion of surgery and oncology services that focus on less invasive treatments, the hospital has also consolidated the care ecosystem to make health care more accessible.

“In healthcare, nothing is achieved alone,” Dr. Oberpaur said. “We work in coordinated teams, focused on continuous improvement and better outcomes for our patients. Together, this institutional foundation and team culture are what set us apart, keeping patients and their families at the center of every decision.”

Colombia: Fundación Valle del Lili

“Fundación Valle del Lili is one of the largest hospitals in Colombia,” General Director Dr. Marcela Granados Sánchez told Newsweek over email. “We offer comprehensive medical services, robust biomedical technology and an outstanding team of specialized and subspecialized physicians and healthcare professionals that have made us a local, regional and national referral center for the care of highly complex patients.”

Those specialties include critical care, solid organ and bone marrow transplant, oncology, high-risk obstetric care and in the management of cardiovascular, infectious and neurological diseases.

The hospital, located in Cali, is in the top five percent of national and international reputation scores and has increased its number of national recommendations, according to Statista. It also landed at No. 126 in the Global Top 250. It has been at the No.1 spot on Colombia’s list since the country was added to the ranking in 2022.

As a university hospital, education is a top priority for Fundación Valle del Lili. To improve the availability of health care professionals, the hospital developed a training program with Universidad ICESI and granted scholarships to professionals who complete their studies abroad.

“Our selection processes are based on competencies and soft skills that strengthen person-centered care and on the continuous education and training of those who are already part of our teams. The development of leaders and staff follows a conscious agenda that makes them participants in the hospital’s projects and allows them to improve their life projects.”

Over the last few years, the hospital implemented a robust improvement methodology to close the gaps in clinical outcomes and Lean Six Sigma to optimize results. It also strengthened its management of PROMs, achieving real-time communications of results to patients and their physicians through shared decision making, which led to more timely treatment adjustments in clinical practice.

The mission, Sánchez said, is to meet the highly complex health needs of patients by integrating clinical practice, education and research “in a permanent pursuit of excellence for the benefit of the community.”

“In the coming years, we aim to strengthen our national and international leadership in the provision of highly complex healthcare services, in knowledge generation and innovation, and in the training of human talent, with sustainability, equity, and social commitment to our community and our country,” he said.

Mexico: Hospital Médica Sur

Hospital Médica Sur in Mexico City had the highest national and international reputation score in Mexico, according to Statista, and performed in the top 10 percent of patient experience, based on Google scores.

CEO Octavio González Chon said Hospital Médica Sur’s “unwavering commitment is to provide the highest quality and safest medical care for every patient,” which makes it a great hospital, along with its focus on kindness and empathy to “demonstrate medical excellence with human warmth” at every level of care.

Chon said the entire hospital works daily to “improve care processes and adopt cutting-edge technologies.”

Over the last year, Hospital Médica Sur has integrated and strengthened its platform for the digital management of medical images with RIS/PACS systems in its radiology and imaging services which Chon said has enabled efficiency, traceability and quality in clinical processes.

The hospital has also integrated artificial intelligence tools to support staff and patient care.

“At Médica Sur, we firmly believe that these technologies should complement, not replace, clinical judgment, trusting in the decisions and care of our specialists,” Chon said. “We have also achieved successful adoption of robotic technologies, such as Da Vinci, ROSA (Knee replacement), and Velys (hip navigation), accompanied by training programs, surgical committees, and other strategies to ensure their proper use and technical capacity.”

The full list of the World’s Best Hospitals in each of the 32 countries and the Global Top 250 list can be found here.

Original source: US