United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Accounting and Information Management Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1998-09-24 monographic deposited born digital 24 p. GA 1.13:T-AIMD-98-310 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-AIMD-98-310 P0b002ee18039027f f:ai98310t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-T-AIMD-98-310 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-T-AIMD-98-310 T-AIMD-98-310 Y2K Strategic information systems planning Systems compatibility Medical equipment Health care services Medical information systems Systems conversions Computer software verification and validation Computer software Embedded computer systems VA Year 2000 Strategy VA Veterans Integrated Service Network Y2K Magnetic Resonance Imaging Testimony AIMD Biomedical equipment that relies on computers or computer chips, from cardiac monitoring systems to electronic imaging machines, may be adversely affected by the Year 2000 problem. Although this situation has serious implications for the delivery of health care to the nation's veterans, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) still does not know the full extent of its Year 2000 problem or the cost to overcome it. This is because it has yet to receive compliance information from 27 percent of the biomedical equipment manufacturers on its list of suppliers or from the nearly 100 other manufacturers that VHA discovered were no longer in business. According to VHA, most manufacturers reporting noncompliant equipment cited incorrect display of date or time as problems--albeit ones that health care providers can work around. Some manufacturers, however, cited more serious problems that could jeopardize patient safety. For example, a miscalculation by a radiation therapy planning computer could cause a patient to receive a hazardous radiation dose. The Food and Administration (FDA), which oversees and regulates medical devices, has sent letters to biomedical equipment manufacturers asking for information on products affected by the Year 2000 problem. The response rate to FDA has been disappointing. It is critical that such information be obtained and publicized. This testimony summarizes the September 1998 report, GAO/AIMD-98-240. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-AIMD-98-310/html/GAOREPORTS-T-AIMD-98-310.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-AIMD-98-310/pdf/GAOREPORTS-T-AIMD-98-310.pdf GAO/T-AIMD-98-310 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-AIMD-98-310 Testimony GAO/T-AIMD-98-310; Year 2000 Computing Crisis: Leadership Needed to Collect and Disseminate Critical Biomedical Equipment Information; Y2K Strategic information systems planning Systems compatibility Medical equipment Health care services Medical information systems Systems conversions Computer software verification and validation Computer software Embedded computer systems VA Year 2000 Strategy VA Veterans Integrated Service Network Y2K Magnetic Resonance Imaging