U.S. News & World Report Names Scripps Physicians to Top Doctors List

19 Physicians Listed as Top 1% in Nation

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19 Physicians Listed as Top 1% in Nation

LA JOLLA, Calif. – U.S. News & World Report has named 36 physicians from Scripps Health as “Top Doctors.” Of the top-ranked doctors at Scripps, U.S. News identified 19 physicians as being in the top one percent in the nation in their respective specialties.


“We are proud of all of our doctors and are thrilled that the medical community has chosen to recognize this select group for being leaders in their fields,” said Chris Van Gorder, Scripps Health president and CEO. “We have always known that Scripps is home to some of the most gifted physicians in the country, and the ‘Top Doctors’ list affirms that others recognize this as well.”


The top Scripps physicians, as identified by U.S. News, and their area of specialty, are:


  • Gregory Babikian, MD, Internist
  • Gonzalo Ballon-Landa, MD, Infectious Disease Specialist (top one percent)
  • Daniel Bressler, MD, Internist
  • Wendy Buchi, MD, Obstetrician-Gynecologist
  • Richard Chaffoo, MD, Plastic Surgeon
  • Steven Copp, MD, Orthopedic Surgeon (top one percent)
  • Ralph Dilley, MD, Vascular Surgeon (top one percent)
  • Jonathan Fisher, MD, Surgeon (top one percent)
  • Jan Fronek, MD, Sports Medicine Specialist (top one percent)
  • Hubert Greenway, MD, Dermatologist (top one percent)
  • David Hackley, MD, Orthopedic Surgeon
  • James Hemp, MD, Thoracic Surgeon
  • Steven Higgins, MD, Cardiac Electrophysiologist
  • William Hummel, MD, Reproductive Endocrinologist
  • Allen Johnson, MD, Cardiologist (top one percent)
  • Andrew King, MD, Nephrologist (top one percent)
  • Nasrin Mani, MD, Ophthalmologist
  • Christopher Marsh, MD, Urologist (top one percent)
  • Thomas Moore, MD, Perinatologist (top one percent)
  • Kenneth Ott, MD, Neurosurgeon (top one percent)
  • Alan Saven, MD, Hematologist (top one percent)
  • Randolph Schaffer, MD, Surgeon (top one percent)
  • Robert Singer, MD, Plastic Surgeon (top one percent)
  • Charles Raymond Smith, MD, Neurologist
  • Paul Teirstein, MD, Interventional Cardiologist (top one percent)
  • Prabhakar Tripuraneni, MD, Radiation Oncologist (top one percent)
  • Howard Williams, MD, Internist
  • Michael Worsey, MD, Colon and Rectal Surgeon (top one percent)


U.S. News Top Doctors was created in collaboration with Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., publisher of America’s Top Doctors and other consumer health guides. It draws from Castle Connolly’s database of Top Doctors, all recommended for their clinical skills by other doctors and individually vetted by a physician-led research team. Consumers can search for a Top Doctor by location, hospital affiliation, and a full range of specialties and subspecialties.


U.S. News Top Doctors builds on the Best Hospitals rankings, which ranks the Scripps Health nationally in cardiology and heart surgery and lists 11 specialties as high-performing. Health consumers can now see which Top Doctors practice at the 700-plus hospitals in the 22nd annual rankings by visiting www.usnews.com/best-hospitals.


“For decades, the Best Hospitals rankings have helped guide patients who need an especially high level of care to hospitals that excel in providing it,” said Avery Comarow, U.S. News health rankings editor. “‘Top Doctors’ has a similar mission. We want to help consumers find the doctors in their area who come highly recommended by other physicians.”

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