I recently saw an outdoor board in another city touting a local hospital’s heart program as one of the 100 best in the nation. 100? Cleverly, I deduced there are 99 better ones.

When my kids were visiting colleges, I subscribed to the online edition of U.S. News & World Report‘s America’s Best Colleges rankings. It seemed important at the time that whichever schools they chose be somewhere on the list.

But, as with most consideration sets, there is first place and then there is everything else.

Among universities, the best, according to the rankings, are Harvard and Princeton (tie). The best cancer center is University of Texas M.D. Anderson. The best heart center is the Cleveland Clinic. And so on.

However, not being number one hasn’t stopped most of the others from promoting their also-ran standings.

Ads, TV spots and billboards proudly proclaim various institutions as “one of the top 25″ or “one of America’s best.” U.S. News & World Report badges are prominently displayed.

If you were planning to have your kidney removed at University of North Carolina Hospitals in Chapel Hill (#28 in kidney disorders), would you instead drive to Winston-Salem to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (#26)? After all, it’s two positions “better.”

A major premise of brand positioning, as explained in Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, by Al Ries and Jack Trout, is that no one remembers more than the top couple of brands in a particular category.

Twenty-fourth best orthopedics program? Forget it.

Rankings may matter to employees, prospects, and referring physicians, but most institutions would be better served to find more unique ways to stand apart in the minds of health care consumers than proclaiming to be “one of America’s best.”

Disclaimer: This post was written by an employee of one of America’s best branding and marketing firms.