The health care industry faces tremendous litigation risks and operational exposure from the Year 2000 (Y2K) problems. Although an estimated 80,000,000 personal computers will not properly handle the date change from December 31, 1999, to January 1, 2000, the Y2K problems facing the health care industry involve much more than just mainframe and desktop computer failures. The problems potentially involve life-and-death situations because many medical devices use embedded microprocessors or "chips." Supplies of drugs could be destroyed in error because computer software mistakenly identifies them as outdated. Medical records, including payment and billing records, could also be adversely affected for the same reasons.

The Y2K problems developed years ago, when it was common for computer programmers to conserve computer memory by using a shortcut in which only two digits, rather than four, were used to represent each calendar year. Y2K problems can occur whenever date-sensitivity is involved. With the two digit limitation, a computer may erroneously convert 99 + 1 to equal 00 or 98 + 4 to equal 02. Other dates which programmers used for "testing" computers may likewise trigger Y2K problems. A commonly-cited example is the date of September 9, 1999 (9-9-99).

Computers, software programs and embedded microprocessors are the essential components of many medical devices and pieces of business equipment, and many medical devices use multiple embedded chips from multiple manufacturers. Unfortunately, if any one of these embedded chips is Y2K sensitive, the device may not operate normally or may not function at all. Unlike desktop or mainframe computers, embedded systems are not always easy to recognize, check, or fix. Even when these chips are located, another problem in determining if they and the device are Y2K compliant arises because many manufacturers have apparently used different embedded chips for the same model of devices. As the House Subcommittee on Government Management, Information, and Technology recently noted in its October 8, 1998 report, entitled "The Year 2000 Problem," http://www.house.gov/reform/gmit/y2k/y2k_report/Isummary.htm, of the estimated 25 billion microchips being used throughout the world, 2 to 5 percent (about 50 million) are believed to have the Y2K problem and depend on date calculations. It is for these and other reasons that most experts now think that the embedded chips are the larger Y2K problem. The Institution of Electrical Engineers provides very helpful information about embedded chips and the related Y2K problems at http://www.iee.org.uk/2000risk/.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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