State officials are scheduled to host a Health Care Community Conversation this Wednesday, which is designed to address some of the year 2000 computer programming issues the industry could face. The half-day forum, which is scheduled to be held at the Radisson Airport Hotel in Warwick, will help inform health care professionals on the potential service and financial impacts the Y2K problem could pose, according to information available on state government’s year 2000 Web site. The forum is designed so that anybody interested in the issue can attend, but a majority of the participants are expected to be health care administrators, said Micki Lawrence, who works with Rhode Island’s Year 2000 Project.
Y2K refers to a programming glitch in some computer systems, which could cause problems when the date changes on Dec. 21, 1999, to Jan. 1, 2000. Some systems are programmed to recognize the year by only its last two digits, which could cause malfunctions in systems that are confused by the year “00.” There are computers that may not recognize the year 2000 and act as if it is in fact the year 1900.
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The health care forum is the second round of industry-specific Y2K panels that state government has organized, Lawrence said. (U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of R.I./Medicaid Division, and the Health Care Finance Administration are also sponsoring the event.) Earlier this year, the Year 2000 Project hosted a series of five forums around the state, including one in Providence and another in Warwick, on public utilities and how they are preparing for the New Year.
Year 2000 Project staff members have not yet decided whether there will be a follow up session to the June 30 event, according to Lawrence. Another one may be scheduled if this event is well-attended, she added.
The schedule calls for two hour-long panel discussions, one addressing various health issues and the other addressing financial issues stemming from Y2K. Panelists for the first discussion will include representatives from the Rhode Island Department of Health, the Hospital Association of R.I., and the federal Food and Drug Administration. The financial panel is expected to include George Jacobs of the Health Care Finance Administration, as well as representatives from Blue Cross and the state Department of Human Services.
Sally Spadaro, coordinator for the state’s Year 2000 Project, is scheduled to make the closing remarks.
The event is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, June 30, from 8 a.m. to noon. To register online, visit the state Web site at www.year2000.state.ri.us/. People can also register at the door, Lawrence said. For more information, call either Micki Lawrence at (401) 222-4399 or Tom Hodge at (401) 732-9333.
