Pittsburgh, April 28, 2011 -- L. Dade Lunsford, MD, Joseph C. Maroon, MD, Ian Pollack, MD, and Douglas Kondziolka, MD, have been named among this area’s top doctors in their field in a national survey published locally in the May issue of Pittsburgh Magazine. It's the tenth straight year for Dr. Lunsford's inclusion on the list.

The annual survey was conducted by Castle Connolly, Ltd., a health care research and information company founded in 1991 by a former medical-college board chairman and president to help guide consumers to America’s top doctors and top hospitals.

Of the 190 physicians included in the survey, more than 73% are UPMC physicians. At least one UPMC physician is included in each of the 49 specialty categories and 40 percent of the categories contain only UPMC physicians.

“The selection of so many UPMC physicians as Top Docs makes us very proud of our medical staff. They consistently devote themselves to deliver what’s best for our patients and they play a vital role in making certain that all patients have the right care at the right time,” said Elizabeth Concordia, executive vice president of UPMC and president of the Hospital and Community Services Division.

According to the magazine's website, "Castle Connolly’s physician-led team of researchers follows a rigorous screening process to select top doctors on the national and regional levels. Using mail and telephone surveys and electronic ballots, the team asks physicians and the medical leadership of leading hospitals to identify highly skilled, exceptional doctors. Careful screening of doctors’ educational and professional experience is essential before final selection is made among those physicians most highly regarded by their peers.

"Doctors do not and cannot pay to be selected and profiled as Castle Connolly 'Top Doctors.'"