After four years of study by the state, the Cuomo administration now says its decision on whether to allow high-volume hydraulic fracturing in New York will have to wait until it conducts a review of the potential public health effects of the controversial natural gas drilling process.

On Thursday, Joseph Martens, commissioner of the State Department of Environmental Conservation, announced that he had asked the health commissioner, Dr. Nirav Shah, to assess his department’s analysis of the health effects closely.

Mr. Martens said he was responding to widespread concerns that the state had not adequately addressed potential health consequences in its environmental assessments as it moved toward a decision on whether to permit the drilling process and what rules would govern it.

“Only after this evaluation is completed will a decision be made about whether to permit high-volume hydraulic fracturing in New York,” he said. “Obviously, if there was a public health concern that could not be addressed, we would not proceed.”