Tuesday, June 15, 1999

Hospitals give critical care to Y2K plans

---

Tristate medical facilities confident

BY TIM BONFIELD
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Renee Ritchie demonstrates an ultrasound machine at Fairfield Mercy Hospital. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        Ray Pierangeli, chief information officer for Mercy Health Partners, won't be raising a glass of bubbly this New Year's Eve.

        Instead, he plans to spend midnight stone-cold sober at Mercy's Y2K command center, just in case the millennium plays havoc with the hospital group despite months of contingency planning. Similar teams are forming at most local hospitals.

        The idea that patients face grave risks if they happen to be in a hospital at the turn of the century is one of the many dire Y2K predictions running around. Some also have predicted that the Year 2000 will trigger massive computer fail ures that lead to nationwide power outages, banking collapses, even planes plummeting from the sky.

        With less than six months to go before the big day, Tristate hospitals have spent millions of dollars and devoted thousands of hours of staff time to making contingency plans and checking and replacing equipment to deal with the Y2K bug. They do not expect a disaster.

        “I'm cautiously optimistic,” Mr. Pierangeli said. “There won't be any catastrophic failures, but there probably will be little things that go wrong.”

        The Y2K bug refers to concerns that some computer systems and equipment run by computer chips will go haywire because the machines won't be able to distinguish the year 2000 from the year 1900.

        Some studies have indicated that the medical industry has been slow to address the Y2K issue.

        As of April, a federal survey revealed that about half of hospitals, doctors and nursing homes had reported that their billing and medical record computer systems have been fixed for Year 2000 operation. But less than a third said they had finished checking their biomedical equipment.

        Concerned about the pace of medical Y2K work, a deputy secretary of the U.S. Depart ment of Health and Human Services (HHS) last week told the Senate Special Subcommittee on the Year 2000 Problem that the government might start issuing public warnings or urge voluntary recalls of medical devices with Y2K problems. In extreme cases, officials might even seize unrepaired, high-risk devices.

        But Tristate hospitals and other medical services say they will be ready for 2000. Hospital concerns boil down to four big categories:

        • Facilities: Will the heating systems, elevators, sprinklers, telephones and back-up power generators work?

        • Clinical equipment: Will the ventilator machines, IV pumps, defibrillators, critical care monitors and other devices work?

        • Information systems: Will the computers that track inventory, billing and medical records continue to function?

        • Contingency planning: What should hospitals do if the Y2K bug bites utilities, banks, drug companies or other suppliers?

        One of the hardest-to-predict Y2K problems facing hospitals involves “embedded chips” in medical devices.

        No one is quite sure how many devices are equipped with internal clocks or date-sensitive chips that won't understand what the year 2000 means, nor what might happen as a result.

        Some clocks may fail, yet allow the device to continue functioning, much like a VCR can play tapes after a power outage even though the digital clock keeps blinking “12:00.”

        Other internal clocks, however, may be tied into monitoring programs designed to turn off devices that haven't been properly maintained. Such machines require upgrades or they might stop working come 2000.

        The problem is, not every machine can be tested. Some chips have clocks that cannot be reset. Some internal clocks cannot be moved back to the current date if they are moved forward for testing purposes.

        The American Hospital Association estimates that hospitals nationwide will spend a combined $8 billion dealing with the Y2K bug.

        Mercy Health Systems estimates it has spent about $5 million on Y2K compliance at its six affiliated hospitals and four long-term care centers, including about $1 million to replace telemetry equipment in its critical-care units.

        At Good Samaritan Hospital, a part of the TriHealth hospital group, some operating room devices sport green “Y2K OK” stickers; others still had red “Y2K NOT OK” stickers as recently as April 1.

        At the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, which includes six area hospitals, staff members have checked more than 40,000 pieces of equipment, including the University Air Care helicopters. The helicopters will be able to fly, said Dudley Smith, Air Care director and chairman of disaster preparedness for University Hospital.

        In Northern Kentucky, St. Elizabeth Hospital Medical Center officials estimate they are 70 percent complete with their Y2K contingency planning. After two “table top” drills, the hospital found very few problems. Among them: a need for a back-up source of ice supplies.

        “We have a lot of faith in the systems out there. None of our vendors wants to fail,” said Leonard Puthoff, vice president of general services for St. Elizabeth.

        The Greater Cincinnati Health Council organized a Y2K planning committee more than a year ago to look into issues common to local hospitals.

        “We think we're in pretty good shape,” said Lynn Olman, council president.

        In addition to sharing tips on how to deal with Y2K, the council has brought in key service providers to discuss what their companies have done to be Y2K-ready.

        “We've met with representatives of Cinergy and Cincinnati Bell. They speak with great confidence that there will be no problems with service,” Mr. Pierangeli said. “But we're planning to have adequate supplies for 72 hours, just in case.”

        Unlike many businesses, hospitals have a long tradition of staying open during disasters. For example, every hospital in town can run on diesel back-up generators, typically for about three days before they have to be refueled.

        Rather than worrying whether equipment will work, the council's biggest concern has been preventing an urge to stockpile medicines, supplies, fuel and cash — a panic reaction that could create the very shortages hospitals hope to avoid.

        “My biggest concern isn't whether the hospitals will function, but whether the community as a whole overreacts,” Mr. Smith said.

        The bottom line is that most medical care can be provided successfully without any computer help at all. At worst, hospitals predict the Y2K bug will generate paperwork headaches, but not many life-threatening situations.

        Despite what the health officials say, chronic users of medical services say they still have questions about Y2K readiness.

        “What about all those people who depend on medications?” said Irv Laibson, chief executive of a computer consulting company staffed by people with disabilities.

        “A lot of people with chronic illnesses only have a one-month supply of drugs. A big disruption in the transportation system could cut off their supply,” Mr. Laibson said. “What about all those people on dialysis machines? What happens if those machines don't work?”

        The dialysis machines will work, although some automated charting software may require upgrades, said a spokeswoman for Dialysis Specialists of Central Cincinnati.

        Meanwhile, most pharmacies will be able to fill prescriptions come Jan. 1. Like the hospitals, pharmacy industry officials worry mostly about excessive stockpiling, which could hamper access to medications near year's end even if all the computers work.

        Walgreen Co., which operates more than 2,700 pharmacies nationwide, installed a new pharmacy computer system in 1997 that was fully Y2K compliant.

        “We don't see any problems with drug supplies, as long as there isn't any irrational behavior,” said Walgreen spokesman Michael Polzin. “We are recommending that patients order refill medications as they normally would, about five to seven days before their current prescription runs out.”

       

---

Hospitals give critical care to Y2K plans
Luken: Council has him 'pumped'
No replacement yet for Luken at Channel 5
Too many deer parked here
Boy's eye for detail helps nab suspects
Father gets prison time
Help comes to disabled people
Highway no toll on Butler drivers
Teacher owes to Rosa Parks
Worm dirties work week
Dial 'N' for Naked Cowboy
Oldenberg loses fizz, files for reorganization
President plans July 23 stop here
Research backs benefits of soy
Youth shot in Columbia Twp.; suspects sought
100 years, 10 stars
Controversy surrounds man's arrest
County wins in Supreme Court
Guilty plea in creek slaying
Stores sop up damage
Donation will buy 4 cameras
Lakota to dissect school day
Lt. governor talks school safety
Newport cool to idea of 911 study
Seniors in public housing complain
2 men indicted for in audio thefts
Center project stymies council
Despite calls, twisters didn't hit Boone Co.
Former GOP leader Eric Deters to run for Kenton attorney in 2002
Gannett unveils ethics rules
Kentucky teen struck by lightning
Lebanon looks at zone changes
Limo owner convicted of evidence tampering
Mediation ordered in Justin case
State recommends 12th St. plan
Symmes Township administrator resigns
Vote soon on Fort Wash. Way cost hikes
GET TO IT
TRISTATE DIGEST