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To: Karl Drobnic who wrote (20814)	7/19/1998 3:04:00 PM
From: RAVEL	Respond to of 31646

Costly Litigation and Expenditures for Y2K Compliance of Biomedical Equipment Business Editors, Health/Medical/Year 2000 Writers PLEASANTON, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--July 17, 1998--HealthPlus, a Pleasanton-based affiliate of the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California, and Security Third Millennium (SIIIM), an affiliate of the Connecticut Hospital Association, have joined forces to provide healthcare facilities with an innovative, cost-saving internet-based tool to identify risks, potential solutions and replacement options of biomedical equipment with regard to operability in the Year 2000 (Y2K). Significant problems potentially exist for the healthcare industry due to the extent to which microchips containing date sensitive logic are contained in high tech biomedical equipment. The unreliability of this equipment as a result of Year 2000 problems may leave healthcare facilities open to litigation because of risks to patients, employees or others. The computerized repository compiled by SIIIM helps subscribers to identify these pieces of equipment individually, by manufacturer and serial number, to determine what has been done by the manufacturer to ensure operability of the device in the year 2000. While providing a cost-effective way for healthcare providers to comply with Year 2000 requirements, subscribers will also be able to document their efforts for future reference. SIIIM helped one healthcare CEO save over a million dollars in expense to replace a fetal monitoring system. After learning that an upgrade for the system was available from the manufacturer which would adequately solve the problem, the hospital purchased the upgrade at a much lower cost. Some of the products included in the database for which potential Y2K problems exist are: -0- T -- Anesthesia Monitors - incorrect date displayed; -- Infusion Pumps - incorrect dosage of medication given due to inability of pump to recognize it was properly calibrated therefore causing the pump to shut down or fail to shut off when it should; -- Laboratory Equipment - incorrect calculation of test result to incorrect calculation of age of patient; -- Radionuclide Infusion System - incorrect dosage of radionuclide given based on incorrect calculation of age of patient; -- MRI Equipment - incorrect calculation of image and reporting of the image as normal or abnormal based on incorrect calculation of age of patient; -- Defibrillator - incorrect date display and malfunction of equipment due to inability to determine whether preventative maintenance was performed. T -0- Advantages for subscribers of the SIIIM internet repository service include: 1) eliminating the need for additional staff to research and identify every piece of equipment for embedded chips; 2) providing accurate and cost-effective ways to verify Y2K operability of the subscriber's own equipment by electronically submitting an inventory of their equipment. In addition, subscribers receive electronic updates on the Y2K status of the equipment submitted; 3) saving time by performing online searches of the repository for information on a particular piece of equipment. HealthPlus is the shared services subsidiary of the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California, providing more than $200 million in financial, clinical and administrative products and services to hospitals and related health care providers in northern and central California, through business partner endorsements designed to enhance revenue and provide cost savings. For more information, please call Don Whiteside at HealthPlus, 925/225-1285; Scarlett Noguera, 209/244-4526 or e-mail: epelton@hcncc.com.