CMED: Article in USA Today about Y2K Medical concerns in Congress:
Y2K glitch could spark health crisis
WASHINGTON - The medical industry must do more to avert loss of
life and assure that medical treatment is not disrupted in the early days of the new millennium, say Senate investigators staging hearings today on the Year 2000 computer bug, commonly known as Y2K.
''If there isn't more action, I'm afraid this Y2K problem could have this nation's health care system on a respirator come January 2000,'' says Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., co-chair of the Senate special committee on the Year 2000. ''And that's not hyperbole, it's deadly serious.''
Thursday's hearing focuses on efforts to upgrade medical devices and
accounting systems that may fail due to Y2K, a computer programming
glitch which makes it impossible for time-sensitive computers to operate beyond 1999.
The fear is that crashing computers in the first days of 2000 could result in medical records being lost, IV feeders malfunctioning, kidney dialysis machines shutting down for maintenance, pharmacy doors secured by electronic clocks locking up or back-up generators failing.
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