These hospitals are also most likely to have older equipment. While it is not helpful to become an alarmist, it is important for nurses, as patient care advocates, to pay attention to the Y2K issue and to raise questions about Y2K compliance of the equipment they use. It is important to recognize that potential problems are not limited to acute care settings. Today s patients often live at home with sophisticated medical equipment. Nurses involved in home care or patient teaching should pay special attention to the risks these patients may face.
Unionized nurses can have more impact and clout in efforts to protect patients from potential risk.
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