After a year at the top of the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals list, Mayo Clinic has traded places with last year's number two, Massachusetts General Hospital.

Rounding out the top five spots, Johns Hopkins Hospital tied with UCLA Medical Center for number three, and the Cleveland Clinic came in fourth.

However, Mayo earned eight No. 1 rankings on the latest list— more than any other provider. In addition, the clinic placed No. 2 in three separate specialties and took third in one specialty. Mayo was among the top three for the nation for all of the 12 data-determined medical specialties evaluated by the influential U.S. News & World rankings, now in its 26th year.

"We're extremely pleased to be honored by U.S. News & World Report because it is used by so many health consumers to help guide their care," said Dr. John Wald, medical director for public affairs and marketing for Mayo Clinic Enterprise.

"To be ranked No. 1 in eight of those specialties, and to be ranked one, two and three in all data-driven specialties ... it really speaks to the breadth of our practice and not to one specialty. The reason we are Mayo Clinic is because patients come here to get seamless, integrated care. I think this ranking really defines that for us," Wald said.

Matching the results for last year, Mayo ranked first for the following seven departments: Diabetes and Endocrinology, Gastroenterology and GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Gynecology, Nephrology, Neurology and Neurosurgery, and Pulmonology. The department of Urology rose from second place to first, while the Ear, Nose & Throat department dropped from first to second.

Cardiology and Orthopedics held their previous positions at number two — after the Cleveland Clinic and the Hospital for Special Surgery, respectively. Oncology retained its hold on the No. 3 ranking in the country for cancer care, after MD Anderson and Memorial Sloan Kettering.

The 12 data-driven categories in which Mayo dominated are determined by objective numerics, including survival rates, safety outcomes, patient volume, staffing and technologies. Four departmental categories are judged based upon surveys of physicians. This year, the size of that physician survey increased sixfold, potentially impacting the results.

In four reputation-based rankings, Rheumatology held the same spot as last year (fourth in the nation), while Rehabilitation dropped from fourth to fifth, and Psychiatry dropped from seventh place to eighth. As it did last year, Ophthalmology was not ranked in 2015-2016, but earned "high performing" status.

With only two departments trading places between this year's rankings and last year's results, the No. 1 overall ranking appears to have come down to complex point tabulation processes, slight movements among four reputation-only rankings and the rise in performance at other leading systems.

Each year the ranking become the focus of marketing campaigns and full-page advertising in national newspapers, but it's unclear how much they drive the decision to visit a given provider within the top portion of the rankings.

The awards are clearly badges of honor within the clinic, where over-sized posters of U.S. News & World Report magazine covers denoting first place finishes can be found in the hallways of victorious departments.

That said, rankings are often affected by variables outside the control of a given department, including the complexity of cases a department takes under its wing. This makes the clinic's broad footprint on the awards — if not the elusive No. 1 in 2015-2016 — a laurel it treasures highly.

"These rankings reinforce our commitment to provide comprehensive care and a seamless experience to every patient," said Mayo Clinic CEO Dr. John Noseworthy in a statement. "While no single set of measures perfectly represents health care quality, we are honored to be recognized by so many. We remain focused on our primary mission of putting the needs of our patients first, and providing our patients with the best possible health care experience."