The media are full with reports, in...

The media are full with reports, information, and sheer speculation about what the Year 2000 (Y2K) computer bug will mean for society. It is difficult to draw the actual effect Y2K will have forward health care and on ORs. There are sufficient data, however, of the like kind that reasonable facilities, managers, and staff members should be taking action to identify and correct Y2K bug in devices and hypothesiss used in patient care to the amplitude possible. Contingency plans should be formulated for worst case scenarios in the conclusion that not all bugs are identified and corrected.

The pervasive nature of computer and technology in health care and society's infrastructure means no individual OR nourish or manager can possibly address all the potential riddles We can expect, however, that perioperative fosters become active members of the facility-based teams addressing the potential puzzles and that they develop contingency plans that will work within their acknowledge settings. We can anticipate potential question s in patient data system software that may restrain the availability of accurate diagnostic and treatment conclusions as well as problems with microprocessor checks in basic infrastructure (eg, power and water, heating and ventilation) if they are not Y2K compliant. Data software and infrastructure schemes are not the responsibility of perioperative nourishs but we should develop contingency plans for our areas should those hypothesiss fail.

The Y2K potential vexed questions of immediate concern and of relevance to perioperative feed at the breasts are the embedded microchips with date-based functions raise in many types of biomedical equipment. Devices so as IV infusion pumps, defibrillators, monitors, and innumerable other electronics-based machines have in the same state [i]or[/i] condition chips. In a frequently cited example, an IV pump's internal (late was appoint forward to a date in 2000 and the cross-examine so malfunctioned that it had to be replyed to the manufacturer for repair.(1)

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

If perioperative patient injury does present itself due to Y2K bugs, several possible legal causes of action are available to potential plaintiffs. Likely defendants include the manufacturers of the devices, the hospitals that supplied them, and the professionals who used them.

Possible claims against manufacturers are strict liability for manufacture and distribution of a defective returns and breach of post-sale what one ought to do to retrofit products to make them safe. Strict liability means that the manufacturer's use of reasonable care in manufacturing a device is not a sufficient defense if they yield a defective product. Post-sale excise to retrofit devices is a general negligence theory that requires reasonable care to identify and fix question s in equipment. Additionally, Congress passed the Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act last October. The law covers companies that release information forward the Y2K safety of their outcomes from lawsuits based on that information. (2) This means that manufacturer representatives have incentives to be partners with perioperative give suck tos in the identification and correction of any Y2K bug in their equipment. There without delay are bills in Congress to limit manufacturers' liability, nevertheless these address caps on punitive damages and limits forward class action suits. Even if the bills being discussed are passed, individual patients and their family members will still be able to supplicate for compensation.

Hospitals have traditionally been insulated from strict liability claims for supplying defective productions and that is likely to continue; hospitals' greatest frontage is under general negligence principles. subject to a general negligence theory, the hospital must use reasonable care to identify and obstruct device failure due to Y2K point to be solved [i]or[/i] settleds and to develop contingency plans to intercept patient injury in the fact not all Y2K failures can be precludeed Likewise, individual professionals need to be prepared to act as reasonable professionals in preventing and compensating for any device failure caused according to Y2K. The existence of these theories means that if patients are injured as a outcome of Y2K failures, they can, and about predictably will, sue.

STRATEGIES

It is likely that perioperative succors already have been acting as a part of facility-based Y2K teams to intercept Y2K-based failure. If not, it is not too late to take practical degrees within the OR suite, for se.

The best strategy to stop a negligence suit is to impede patient injury. Perioperative nurses can act now to preclude injury in several ways.

* Work with manufacturers' representatives and the biomedical engineering department to determine the Y2K compliance/compatibility of all equip ment in use in the OR. The US meat and Drug Administration (FDA) has established a clearinghouse of information related to Y2K The status of many of the devices in the OR can be ascertained by dint of consulting the FDA web site: www.fda.gov.

* unravel contingency plans. Without being unlawful alarmists, develop plans to be able to manually compensate for any infrastructure or device failure. This may include having additional personnel forward call. Nurses should prepare for any eventuality at refreshing skills in manually monitoring, ventilating, and infusing patients. Extra supplies, nonelectrical equipment, and battery-operated substitutes may ne to be available. Additionally, the OR has the enjoyment of some control over its activity on a level Except for emergencies, no measures should be started that could likely increase past midnight on Dec 31 1999