If you're in need of a same-day medical procedure, you now have a new tool at your fingertips that will help you make an informed decision on the best facility to have it done.

The State Department of Health and Senior Services has expanded its website to allow the public to examine inspection reports for 260 licensed or certified ambulatory surgery centers.

"The idea is for consumers to empower themselves with more information to make informed health care choices about what provider they want to use," said Mary O'Dowd, Commissioner of Health and Senior Services. "Inspection reports are another tool in getting that done."

"Inspection reports contain information we discover when we visited this facility in an unannounced way to see what type of care was being provided," said O'Dowd. "We have found things like infection control problems, issues with medication management, staffing or record keeping. So, some of the issues are of significant concern and others are more administrative, but a consumer can see all of that as well as the plan of correction that the facility has to employ in order to fix those problems."

"Often times, the consumer can feel better about the fact that issues have been seen and addressed. It also allows for a provider to make significant improvements once they learn what they aren't doing exactly right based on a survey," said O'Dowd.

Consumers can search the Department of Health and Senior Services website for a specific facility within a region of the state and review and compare inspection reports for the past three years.

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