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Doubts raised on Y2K readiness of health industry

By Associated Press, 08/06/99

WASHINGTON - A new government report raises questions about whether health care providers, from doctors to hospitals, are prepared to head off problems with medical bills and records that could be caused by the Y2K computer bug.

Failures in health care providers' billing systems have been discovered in Y2K testing conducted by Medicare, according to the previously unreleased report from the General Accounting Office, an investigative arm of Congress.

''Testing with providers has been limited and reported results are not encouraging,'' the GAO told the House Commerce Committee in a July 28 report obtained by The Associated Press.

The report did not assess whether hospitals, doctors' offices and others are doing enough to ensure that medical devices such as X-ray machines or heart-monitors that use computer chips will work properly starting Jan. 1, 2000.

But the GAO was generally critical of surveys that industry groups, such as the American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association, have used to offer public reassurance that the nation's health care system will be Y2K ready.

''None of the 11 surveys we reviewed provided sufficient information with which to assess the Year 2000 status of the health care community,'' said the GAO report.

Separately yesterday, the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion cited health care among areas of concern in its third quarterly report.

''The existing information of the readiness of some health care providers indicates that much work remains to be done,'' said the council.

Health care industry leaders insist they will be ready for Jan. 1, when it is feared that many computers, originally programed to recognize only the last two digits of the year, will not be able to differentiate between 2000 and 1900. Unless reprogrammed in time, computers could malfunction.

''Hospitals will be prepared and will have the ability to submit their bills,'' said Fred Brown, chairman of the AHA's board. ''Hospitals are not run by machines. They're really run by caregivers, by nurses, by physicians...There's human backup to the machines.''

The GAO study said recent assurances about Y2K readiness from industry groups, including the AHA, have been based on surveys that may be unreliable because of low response rates. For example, just 7 percent of doctors responded to a survey that the AMA has touted, saying that 94 percent of physicians expect to be Y2K-ready before the end of this year.

Also, such surveys generally have required no independent verification of providers' claims of Y2K readiness. The GAO cited similar shortcomings in surveys by 9 other groups, including the American Clinical Laboratory Association and the American Ambulance Association.

The report noted that more than a quarter of health care providers - 123 out of 434 - who participated in Medicare claims tests conducted before June 21 ran into problems.

Medicare, the government health insurance program for the elderly and disabled, has sent reminder Y2K reminder letters to 1.1 million health care providers, set up a toll-free advice line and held how-to conferences across the country. But participation rates have been low.

The GAO report recommended that Medicare try public service announcements that might get patients to help spur providers to action.

Doctors offices, hospitals and others also need to fix computer systems used to do business with private insurers and to store medical records and appointment schedules for all patients.

This story ran on page C3 of the Boston Globe on 08/06/99.

) Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.

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-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), August 06, 1999.