How Newsweek Determined the Best Fertility Clinics in America in 2024

All across the country, people are turning to fertility clinics to help make their dream of building a family into a reality.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 2 percent of the nearly 3.7 million infants born in the U.S. in 2021 were conceived with in vitro fertilization (IVF) or other forms of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). In 2021, there were about 500 fertility clinics in the U.S. that performed ART procedures.

New state legislation—introduced after the Supreme Court‘s controversial Dobbs decision in 2022—seeks to regulate reproductive rights in various parts of the country. Despite the ongoing debate around access to these fertility procedures, they remain a crucial option for many families.

For the second year in a row, Newsweek, in partnership with Statista, has published a ranking of America’s Best Fertility Clinics. The 2024 ranking lists 125 fertility clinics and factors in new parameters when assigning a final score to a facility, including patient satisfaction data, additional accreditations and increased weight for quality metrics.

Philipp Strehle and Rafaela Wasserer from Statista’s Healthcare Team said this ranking aims to provide patients with valuable information to help them make informed decisions about their reproductive health care.

“By evaluating and comparing different factors, the ranking aims to empower individuals to choose a clinic that best meets their needs and preferences,” they told Newsweek in an email. “Ultimately, the ranking serves to enhance transparency, promote accountability, and improve the overall quality of care within the fertility industry.”

The facilities on the list were evaluated on four main criteria: reputation, ART quality metrics, accreditations and patient satisfaction.

To determine each clinic’s reputation, Statista, a data and business intelligence portal, used data from a nationwide online survey of physicians and fertility experts, including reproductive endocrinologists, infertility specialists, obstetricians/gynecologists working in and referring patients to fertility clinics, as well as other medical professionals and fertility clinic administrators and managers.

These participants were asked to recommend the best fertility clinics in the country based on the overall quality of diagnosis, treatment, staff and accommodations and services. Respondents were not able to give recommendations for the fertility clinics where they work. Recommended clinics were given a score, which made up 70 percent of the overall reputation score.

Next, the respondents rated the clinics they recommended based on five key quality measures. They were asked to rate the clinics on a scale from 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent) in the following categories: diagnosis of fertility problems, treatment of fertility problems, fertility counseling (including consultations with doctors and fertility webinars), accommodations and services (including the recovery room and financial assistance) and the overall qualifications and experience of the nursing staff.

These quality measures comprised 30 percent of the clinics’ overall reputation score.

Analysts then factored in ART quality metrics for fertility clinics that were published by the CDC. ART includes all fertility treatments in which an egg or embryo is handled, like IVF. These data points can give patients an idea of a clinic’s success rates for different procedures.

The quality metrics for this ranking were based on the CDC ART Success Rates Report from the 2021 cycle, the most recent data from the CDC.

The final two pillars of the scoring model were accreditations and patient satisfaction.

There were four types of accreditations considered for this ranking: The Joint Commission (JCI), College of American Pathologists (CAP), Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) and the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM).

For this year’s survey, Statista included the accreditations from CLIA and the AIUM for the first time.

“Clinics invest in accreditations to assure patients of their commitment to quality of care, adherence to safety standards, and regulatory compliance, enhancing credibility and trust,” Strehle and Wasserer said. “Accreditation also fosters a culture of continuous improvement, promoting ongoing assessment and refinement of clinic practices to ensure the highest standards of patient safety and care.”

Patient satisfaction was determined by evaluating Google reviews for each fertility clinic. According to Statista, “patient satisfaction reflects the quality of care from the patient’s perspective, the quality other patients can expect to receive and influence a clinic’s reputation and financial performance.” Each facility was rated between zero and five stars, based on a minimum of five reviews.

At the end of the analysis, each of the four pillars of the survey was weighted to determine the overall score for each fertility clinic.

The reputation score made up 40 percent of the total score. The ART quality metrics made up 45 percent of the total score, while the accreditations made up 10 percent and patient satisfaction made up the remaining 5 percent of the total score.

Even with the additional considerations for the 2024 ranking, there was approximately 90 percent consistency with the previous year’s recognized clinics, according to Statista.

As infertility rates climb worldwide, Statista’s Strehle and Wasserer said the demand for fertility treatments has increased. They added that while the field of reproductive medicine evolves with new technologies developed regularly, reliable information about fertility care is necessary.

“Patients want assurance that they are receiving high-quality care from reputable clinics,” they said. “Therefore, the ranking of fertility clinics in the U.S. can provide valuable guidance and support to individuals navigating the complex landscape of reproductive health care.”