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ALBANY--- The New York State Department of Health has unveiled the New York State Hospital Profile (NYSHP) web site which highlights key hospital quality measures and treatments for specific patient conditions. To ensure that the public has access to reliable information, the NYSHP data will be updated quarterly for all 239 hospitals statewide.
The data is now publicly available on the Department's web site: www.nyhealth.gov
"New York State is recognized as a national leader in providing the public with accurate and reliable health care information so that they can make well-informed decisions about their medical needs," state health commissioner Dr. Antonia Novello said. "The NYSHP data will serve as a catalyst for patients to begin discussions with their doctors and hospital staff before undergoing specific procedures or treatments."
The web site's search capabilities allow consumers to review hospital data by health condition, surgical procedure or special state designation - such as a stroke or burn center. The web site includes information on four health conditions, including care related to heart attacks, heart failure, pneumonia and prevention of surgical infections and up to 20 related services. The data includes the latest hospital-reported information to CMS through March 2005.
The hospital profile also highlights risk-adjusted surgical outcomes on adult cardiac bypass and valve surgery, as well as angioplasty procedures and pediatric-specific heart surgery statewide. The information on cardiac data includes hospital-reported data through December 2003.
The Department's new website will eventually include additional measures and features, including summaries of hospital complaint and citation data, hospital-acquired infection rates, pediatric-specific services and results from patient satisfaction surveys.
Dr. Novello said, "Although approximately three-quarters of the households in the United States have direct access to the internet, we are cognizant of the fact that not every person has this capability. To address this issue, the Department is working with the 760 public libraries across the state to get the message out that this information is available and can be viewed at the local library."
Experience has shown that since the Department began posting health plan quality measurement data, the delivery of care for patients in managed care has shown improvements. For example, the Department's 2005 eQARR managed care report that more patients enrolled in health plans are satisfied with the care they receive from doctors; more pregnant women are accessing prenatal care; and a higher number of patients with diabetes are accessing comprehensive care from physicians to help them better manage and control their chronic illness. www.health.state.ny.us/health_care/managed_care/reports/eqarr/2005/index.htm
It's important to note that hospitals are constantly strengthening the delivery of care through their quality assurance programs. Hospitals are also using the data in these profiles to improve their performance. In fact, as a result of reviewing this data, many hospitals have already instituted improvements in specific areas of care.
Blair Horner, legislative firector for the N.Y. Public Interest Research Group said, "The Health Department's hospital profile system - combined with its doctor profiles -- allows consumers easy access to critical health information. NYPIRG supports this new effort. We also applaud the recognition by the Department that this is a work in progress. The Department's promise of adding more health information as it becomes available and a commitment to a strong public education effort will further enhance the usefulness of the profile system to consumers."
Similar to the State's Physician Profile website, http://www.nydoctorprofile.com/welcome.jsp which received over 11 million hits in 2005, the NYSHP website allows visitors to easily find data on hospitals of their choice. This is simply done by clicking on the state map, selecting any region or county in the state, or choosing a hospital through a search feature.
To access NYSHP and available data please visit the Department's web site at: www.nyhealth.gov. 1-19-06
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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