Millennium Bug Could Bite HCFA

Publication
Article
Oncology NEWS InternationalOncology NEWS International Vol 8 No 1
Volume 8
Issue 1

WASHINGTON-Whether you call it the Year 2000 Problem (Y2K) or the Millennium Bug, it could bite the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) quite badly, a congressional report warns. The Y2K problem stems from the fact that most computers still use only two digits to represent the year. Come the year 2000, unless this flaw is corrected, these computers will read 00 as the year 1900, and chaos will occur in their calculations.

WASHINGTON—Whether you call it the Year 2000 Problem (Y2K) or the Millennium Bug, it could bite the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) quite badly, a congressional report warns. The Y2K problem stems from the fact that most computers still use only two digits to represent the year. Come the year 2000, unless this flaw is corrected, these computers will read 00 as the year 1900, and chaos will occur in their calculations.

In his sixth “report card” on the efforts of the federal organizations to correct their computers, Rep. Steven Horn (R-Calif) gave HHS an “F,” largely because of the failure of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) to update its computers. Overall, he gave the federal effort a “D” grade.

“We estimate, at the current rate of progress, that nearly one-third of the federal government’s mission-critical systems will not be Year 2000 compliant by the deadline established by the President of March 30, 1999,” Rep. Horn said.

Related Videos
A panel of 5 experts on colorectal cancer
A panel of 3 experts on multiple myeloma
A panel of 3 experts on multiple myeloma
A panel of 5 experts on colorectal cancer
Pegulicianine-guided breast cancer surgery may allow practices to de-escalate subsequent radiotherapy, says Barbara Smith, MD, PhD.
Adrienne Bruce Shannon, MD, discussed ways to improve treatment and surgical outcomes for patients with dMMR gastroesophageal cancer.
Barbara Smith, MD, PhD, spoke about the potential use of pegulicianine-guided breast cancer surgery based on reports from the phase 3 INSITE trial.
Related Content