| Staying Ahead of the Y2K Curve Offers Added
Clinical Benefits |
|
| UCSF Stanford Health Care is not only "ahead of the
curve" in preparing for the Year 2000 computer problem [Y2K], but the organization
has turned the need to prepare for the threat into an opportunity to make overall
improvements to clinical information management. That was the word from Brian May, UCSF Stanford's new chief information officer, who spoke Nov. 18 at the monthly joint meeting of the Stanford Hospital and Clinics Deputy Chiefs' Committee and Medical Center Task Force. May, a long-time consultant to UCSF Stanford Health Care who was appointed CIO in October, said about $100 million has been allocated to upgrade information systems, including the installation of a new physician order entry system, patient accounting and scheduling systems and the infrastructure required to support the environment. "While it's true that the Y2K problem drove the need to replace those systems, it's clear that many of these systems were due for replacement," May said. The organization will be left with a much better information infrastructure when the computer clocks roll over to Jan. 1, 2000, he said. Y2K is the designation for the potential threat to computer-based communication that may result at the start of the new millennium. Electronic clocks placed in many computer systems were not designed to differentiate the year 2000 from the year 1900, and that failure - if not corrected - could result in massive breakdowns of critical information flow. Because UCSF Stanford began intensive preparations earlier this year, an outstanding staff has already been gathered to help effect the transition, May said. He said individual computers and networks are currently being retrofitted to ensure a smooth transition to the new millennium. "We're ahead of the curve in terms of being able to complete that work ahead of schedule," he said. In answer to questions, May noted that Lucile Packard Children's Health Services will be well served by recent changes in information technology personnel at Packard Children's Hospital. He apologized for not communicating these changes directly to Packard physicians earlier but said he would maintain closer communication in the future. He also acknowledged that some physicians may be frustrated because Packard's popular physician order entry system, Meditech, may be replaced in the next few years with a system that more easily integrates medical record keeping across the entire enterprise. Meditech will not be replaced until after the millennium, however, because it is the only major system at UCSF Stanford Health Care that is Y2K compliant, May said. By the millennium, physicians and other health professionals at Stanford Hospital and Clinics will be using the LastWord physician order entry system. This system will replace the Oacis system. Last July in an interview, Ray Gaeta, lead physician in information systems for Stanford Hospital and Clinics, said LastWord will offer additional functional benefits not available with the earlier order entry system. "I know there is some frustration among physicians who spent a lot of time working to understand and prepare for the implementation of Oacis, but you will be receiving a topflight system - one that is Y2K compliant." |
COLUMNS Chief of Staff NEWS Pharmacy earns highest ratings Merger results in $38 million in first-year savings Service workers vote for union representation Program available for neurodevelopmental disorders Staying ahead of the Y2K curve offers added clinical benefits New combination therapies recommended by Stanford-led stroke panel PAST ISSUES |