Hospital administrators: Are you Y2K savvy?
Doing evaluations takes more time than you think
The year 2000 (Y2K) problem, or the millennium bug, could affect every aspect of our lives, but health care could be most devastated, says a Chicago-based American Hospital Association (AHA) spokesperson. The bug could cause computers and computerized biomedical equipment to shut down, with serious impact on patient care and safety. In addition, the software that performs such hospital administrative functions as payroll, purchasing, and credentialing may be interrupted. Of no less importance are the payments that could be severely delayed if insurers and federal programs do not adequately and jointly address the concern.
The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) has said it may have to delay routine payment updates to hospitals for the year 2000 without making any provision to pay interest for that period. David L. Bernd, president of Sentara Health System in Norfolk, VA, says the AHA is willing to work with HCFA to find a way to continue critical payment updates. Some suggestions:
· HCFA should craft an alternate payment method to ensure the smooth flow of funds even as it updates its computer system.
· HCFA should work with its contractors who process Medicare bills to ensure they are ready to meet the challenges of the millennium.
· HCFA should establish a fail-safe contingency plan in case the agency or its contractors' payment mechanisms somehow fail.
Jennifer Jackson, general counsel and vice president of clinical services at the Connecticut Hospital Association in Wallingford, says disclosure of Y2K problems is a job for Congress and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Rockville, MD-based Center for Devices and Radiological Health, the arm of the FDA that regulates the safety and effectiveness of medical devices, has been working with manufacturers to provide Y2K compliance information to hospitals. (See http:///www.y2k.gov.au/biomed/html/testing.html on the Internet for procedures for testing clinical equipment.)
Late in July, the AHA went before a Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem and urged the federal government to compel disclosure of Y2K problems. Jackson asked Congress to establish some form of immunity from liability for providers that have taken steps to prevent Y2K problems. In addition, she recommended broadening the "Good Samaritan" proposal that shields businesses from liability to include protection of providers for treating a patient with a medical device that the manufacturer has assured is Y2K compliant, but has caused harm because it is not.
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in Oakbrook Terrace, IL, is hosting a series of educational seminars across the country to address the Y2K issue. The one-day seminars are designed for Environment of Care directors, Y2K task force members, administrators, and information management directors. Seminar information is as follows:
· Sept. 1 - Dallas, The Association of Texas Hospital and Health Care Organizations, (512) 465-1015.
· Sept. 18 - Chicago, Metropolitan Chicago Health Care Council, (312) 906-6164.
· Oct. 14 - Los Angeles, California Healthcare Association, (916) 552-7502.
· Oct. 30 - Boston, Massachusetts Hospital Association, (781) 272-8000, ext. 177.
· Nov. 5 - Nashville, TN, THA: An Association of Hospital and Health Systems, (615) 256-8240.
· Nov. 16 - Lincoln, NE, Nebraska Association of Hospitals & Health Systems, (402) 458-4908.
· Dec. 7 - Roanoke, VA, Virginia Hospital Research & Education Foundation, (804) 965-1280.
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