DOH Health Commerce System Users Should Review Notice

The Department of Health (DOH) sent an email to Health Commerce System (HCS) users regarding upcoming changes that could impact your ability to access key information. All DOH-regulated HCS users should review the message, copied below to avoid disruption:

The Health Commerce System (HCS) will be discontinuing access for computers running Windows XP and Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) and older web browsers as they pose a security risk to HCS applications. 

Windows XP users must upgrade their operating system and IE9 users must upgrade their browser by June 1, 2017 to continue using the HCS, as the HCS will block connections from computers running Windows XP and IE9 browser and older. 

What:  The HCS will discontinue access for PCs using Windows XP and Microsoft IE9 and older web browsers. Upon implementation of this change, any computer running Windows XP or IE9 or older will not be able to connect to or open https://commerce.health.state.ny.us. 

When:  This change is scheduled for June 1, 2017.

Why:  Due to NYS application and data security requirements, HCS access will be discontinued for unsecured IE9 and older web browsers and Windows XP operating system on June 1, 2017. 

What is at stake:  Inability to access the HCS will affect your ability to: comply with New York State Public Health and Education laws; access critical information and data; and receive HCS technical support.

 Specifically, you will not be allowed access to the following applications:

o    Patient narcotic histories (i-STOP/PMP);

o    E-Prescribing waivers;

o    Your Physician Profile;

o    The New York State Immunization Information System;

o    Environmental Health EHCitrix Platform;

o    Evacuation of Facilities in Disasters System (eFINDS);

o    The Health Electronic Response Data System (HERDS); and

o    other mission-critical applications.

What to do next:  If you are using Windows XP or IE9, you must upgrade your PC to a modern, secure operating system as soon as possible, and upgrade your IE9 or older web browser.  It is suggested you perform the following actions to upgrade your PC and browser:

1.            OPERATING SYSTEM: To upgrade to a current Windows operating system please visit http://www.microsoft.com to determine if your computer can be upgraded.  To upgrade, follow the instructions on the Microsoft website. Please note that Windows 10 users will still need to use Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 or Google Chrome as most HCS applications do not yet support the Microsoft Edge browser, which is the default browser for Microsoft 10.

2.            BROWSER: If you are not sure which Internet browser you are using, please visit http://whatsmybrowser.org to determine your browser and version.

On the Windows platform, the HCS currently supports Microsoft Internet Explorer and Google Chrome, and offers partial support for Mozilla Firefox. You may download the latest version of these browsers from the following links:

Microsoft Internet Explorer:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/internet-explorer/download-ie

Google Chrome:

https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/desktop/

Mozilla Firefox:

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

User of MacOS, OSX, Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10 and users of Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 or newer, or Safari on the Mac platform, are not affected by this change.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Please contact hcsxpeol@health.ny.gov for questions or assistance.

The HCS Project Team