Assembly Bill #8586, For Our Children, is an act to amend Public Health Law in relation to increasing consumer access to physician profile.

This bill will give to the public upon request some of the following information about their health care provider: description of criminal convictions; description of annulment, suspension, or revocation of license; revocation or restriction of hospital privileges; and malpractice judgments; name of medical school attended and date of graduation, board certification, number of years in practice, names of hospitals where the licensee has admitting privileges, medical school faculty appointments, publications in peer review journals; location of practice settings; identification of translating services; and whether the licensee participates in the Medicaid program. The bill also directs the Department of Health to establish a toll-free telephone number to answer inquiries about physician profiles.

This bill will affect every person who would like information on their Health Care Provider and never, in the past, had a place to get this information.

We need to get the Senate to sponsor a companion bill to Assembly Bill #8586. Please call the Chair of the New York State Health Committee, 6th District, Senator Kemp Hannon, at 222-0068, or write to him at 1600 Stewart Avenue, Suite 315, Westbury, NY 11590 and Senator Charles Fuschillo, 8th District, at 546-4100, address, 30 South Ocean Avnue, Freeport, NY 11520. Let them know that you want them to sponsor this bill.

You have a right to know. If you don't know about it, it won't exist.

Ilene Corina