Yahoo! has chosen HealthGrades, a leading independent healthcare ratings organization, as exclusive provider for its Yahoo! Health directory. HealthGrades will supply physician quality reports and hospital ratings that will be integrated into this consumer repository health tool with information on more than 700,000 physicians and 5,000 hospitals nationwide, including consumer ratings on doctors and prescription drugs.

The tool will incorporate HealthGrades data into a search-driven directory, leveraging numerous Yahoo! technologies. Search results will offer detailed information on physician and care providers, insurance coverages, ratings and reviews from other users.

"Providing Yahoo! Health with HealthGrades content is a valuable opportunity for our company to provide millions more Americans with the critical information they need to choose the best quality medical care for themselves and their loved ones," said Kerry Hicks, HealthGrades CEO.

"We are pleased to announce Yahoo! Health users will have access to HealthGrades trusted and independent health care quality information," said Michael Yang, Yahoo! Health VP/GM. "Our goal is to empower individuals to make the best health decisions for themselves and their loved ones, and in teaming with HealthGrades, we can provide our customers with an easy-to-use physician directory that will offer detailed and trusted information at their fingertips."

Yahoo! Health also features information on conditions and diseases, diet and fitness, and everyday wellness concerns. It is the 6th largest health site according to comScore, September 2008. For more information, see http://health.yahoo.com