Senate committee: Health care is vulnerable to Y2K
Despite years of preparation, the U.S. health care system is vulnerable to the Y2K computer bug in several areas, according to a recent report from the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem.
The committee cautions that microchips in medical devices and patient-related data are both at risk. The Y2K bug could affect software used to manage hospital admissions, insurance, billing, and test results, the report says. Biomedi cal devices could malfunction because of their embedded microchips, as could systems that manage basic hospital functions such as heating, ventilation, and security.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has certified that the Medicare billing system is Y2K compliant, but the committee notes that the same cannot be said for the Medicaid program. The Health Care Financing Administra tion (HCFA) reported to the committee that the Y2K preparedness status of each state’s Medicaid billing systems varies, with eight states viewed as high-risk, 25 as medium-risk, and 17 as low-risk. HCFA says it will visit states in the high- and medium-risk categories to develop contingency plans.
The committee’s report indicates that the District of Columbia and these eight states are unprepared for administering the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs: Kentucky, Oregon, Nevada, South Carolina, Missouri, West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Georgia.
Of all sectors of the health care industry, the committee said the pharmaceutical industry is the best prepared for Y2K. The committee attributes that readiness to the fact that the pharmaceutical industry began working on the problem in 1996, earlier than most other sectors. The pharmaceutical industry still could be affected by Y2K problems, the committee notes, because it is dependent on suppliers and distributors.
Why pharmacies are ahead of the game
To prepare for Y2K, the pharmaceutical industry has been stockpiling important drug ingredients, ensuring that manufacturing facilities are Y2K compliant, ensuring that distributors are Y2K compliant, working with retailers of drugs on Y2K compliance, and ensuring there is a contingency plan for supplying drugs to communities in need.
Pharmacists also have asked patients not to stockpile drugs, and the industry has promised that a 90-day supply of drugs will exist as long as individuals or organizations do not hoard them.
Urban and suburban hospitals seem to be the best prepared for Y2K, the committee says, but it also notes that preparedness is difficult to determine because most assessments are self-reported. In all health care settings, the committee says the most difficult task for hospitals is to determine the Y2K compliance of electronic devices in hospitals.
Single-physician practices should have minimal Y2K problems, but larger groups could be at higher risk because they tend to have more devices and patient record systems. Nursing homes are vulnerable to some of the same problems as physician group practices, the committee notes, but the committee could find no surveys or studies of nursing homes’ preparedness for Y2K.
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