K Medical technology is involved in virtually every aspect of patient care. Here are a few of the most susceptible areas cited by the report, followed by responses from Hawaii experts. Some manufacturers have failed to issue compliance information about their units, the report said, and the health-care industry in general has relied too heavily on makers for information when individuals should be testing the devices themselves. Y2K coordinators say their institutions are testing, and not just relying on assurances from manufacturers. Testing is 90 percent complete and less than 1 percent of the devices have failed, he said.
Bad chips are replaced before equipment is returned to use.
For example, Kuakini Medical Center is replacing two major systems, including one controlling patients' treatment and billing records, said Donda Spiker, director of marketing and public relations. Although the report said the pharmaceuticals segment is better prepared for Y2K than the rest of the health-care industry, it noted that drug makers rely heavily on foreign suppliers and subsidiaries. For example, the report said, Denmark produces 70 percent of the world's insulin, critical to the survival of many diabetics. But Rich Meiers, president and chief executive officer of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, said if that kind of hoarding occurs nationwide it would create more problems than it averts. Likewise, he hopes hospitals don't hoard drugs either.