BOSTON — Avant-garde Health has released its 2025 Healthcare Research All-Stars report, spotlighting the top 5% of hospitals and physicians across the United States who are advancing medical and surgical knowledge through research. The annual report recognizes the most prolific and impactful researchers based on the volume of their published work, the prestige of the journals in which they publish, and their author positions.
This year’s evaluation encompassed over 424,000 physicians and 4,700 hospitals nationwide. From this group, Avant-garde Health identified 489 hospitals and more than 21,000 individual physician researchers whose contributions are shaping the future of patient care. The honorees span 22 medical and surgical specialties and are credited with producing research that directly influences clinical practice and leads to improved patient outcomes.
According to the report, healthcare research continues to be a driving force behind innovation and improved care delivery. By honoring these researchers, Avant-garde Health aims to highlight the importance of translating academic discoveries into real-world clinical applications, ultimately creating a culture of continuous improvement in medicine.
Dr. Porter Jones, Chief Medical Officer at Avant-garde Health, emphasized the transformative power of research: “Healthcare research fundamentally changes how we approach patient care—it transforms curiosity and questions into tangible improvements in clinical outcomes. The physicians and hospitals leading this research are remarkable in their ability to challenge conventional wisdom and rigorously evaluate new treatments, technologies, and care delivery methods.”
Among the key findings of the report, Avant-garde Health noted differing trends in research productivity between medical and surgical specialties. In medical disciplines, physicians with high research output tended to have lighter clinical workloads, indicating a possible trade-off between research and patient care responsibilities. In contrast, surgical specialties showed no such trend, suggesting that research is often integrated more seamlessly into surgical practice.
The report also identified significant geographic concentrations of research activity, with clusters of excellence found in coastal states, around the Great Lakes, and in urban academic hubs. California, New York, Massachusetts, and Texas emerged as the top states for physician-led research. These findings are particularly relevant in light of the projected physician shortage; the Association of American Medical Colleges estimates a shortfall of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036.
Avant-garde Health, founded in 2014 by Derek Haas following research at Harvard Business School, is known for its AI-powered analytics platform and its dedication to promoting data-driven decision-making in healthcare. The company collaborates with leading clinicians to publish in respected outlets such as The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and Harvard Business Review, reinforcing its commitment to elevating care standards through research excellence.
