State Health Commissioner Announces Launch of the NYS Health Profiles Website

ALBANY, N.Y. (September 16, 2014) - Acting Commissioner of Health, Howard A. Zucker, M.D., J.D., today announced the launch of the redesigned New York State Health Profiles website.

The New York State Health Profiles (http://profiles.health.ny.gov), which is maintained within the State Health Department's public website, is a consumer-oriented portal providing centralized access to health care information in four areas: hospitals; nursing homes; home health agencies and hospice programs; and physicians. Users can view details about the quality of care and inspections at health facilities and compare them to national and statewide averages. This information can help inform consumers' health care decisions.

"The redesigned Health Profiles help consumers make informed health care decisions by giving them valuable health care provider data across a range of key areas," said Dr. Howard Zucker, Acting Commissioner of Health. "This information serves to empower consumers and contributes to our efforts to continuously improve quality of care across the state."

New York State Health Profiles are among the most-visited areas of the Department's public website (http://www.health.ny.gov/). Changes to the Health Profiles represent a significant enhancement of the existing website. Key improvements in the redesign include: centralized access to all profiles in a single, easily accessible location; modernized access using updated technology; and improved usability for consumers, including an ability to search for and compare quality measures across facilities in a given region.

The initial launch includes the fully redesigned hospital profile, enabling consumers to search for hospitals and clinics by county or region, service, designation (i.e., perinatal, trauma, stroke centers), and more. The nursing homes, home health agencies and hospice programs sections of the Health Profiles portal will be similarly modernized in the near future. The Profiles home page will continue to link to these existing profiles until development in those areas has been completed.