The Year 2000 How To Guide for Medical Laboratories

The Year 2000 How To Guide for Medical Laboratories As the Year 2000 (Y2K) approaches, can you be sure that your laboratory will be ready? The Y2K date problem is old news in the Information Systems industry. Over the last four years the problem was made public through the media, literature and various symposia. The Hospital Council of Western Pennsylvania estimates that as many as 15,000 medical devices could be affected. Often referred to as the millennium bug, software and medical devices containing embedded chips may not be able to distinguish between the centuries 1900 and 2000. Will your laboratory equipment and software recognize that "00" comes after "99"? And how will "00" be handled?

Comprehensive and Authoritative
The Year 2000 How To Guide for Medical Laboratories is the ideal tool for professionals seeking quick and authoritative answers to the Y2K problem, issues and challenges. In simple, straightforward language the authors present how to: Develop a project plan and checklists
Conduct inventory and triage of critical devices and systems
Determine susceptible devices and systems
Develop a business supply chain contingency and continuity plan
Use online world wide web internet resources to identify medical devices manufacturers and suppliers
Contact top regulating industries
Review contracts, purchase agreements and warranties
And more!

Practical and Easy-To-Use
The Year 2000 How To Guide for Medical Laboratories is completely comprehensive. It covers every aspect of the Year 2000 process (analysis, remediation and certification review) without wading through volumes of technical material. It includes tables, charts and figures to provide concrete data and to supplement explanations and discussions. Also included are valuable reference materials consisting of world wide web internet sources and contact information for leading regulatory agencies.

The Year 2000 How To Guide for Medical Laboratories provides the most current information available on leading online databases containing medical devices and embedded chip manufacturers. An Appendix presents frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Year 2000 issues, challenges and solutions.

What's in The Year 2000 How To Guide for Medical Laboratories Book?

Lab Managers, Lab Directors, Pathologists, CEOs, CIOs, POL Managers and Physicians, Laboratorians, and IT Executives will benefit from the most comprehensive and authoritative Year 2000 strategy guide available. Inside youll discover the following topics:

Step 1: Understanding the Problem, Issues & Challenges
What is the problem?, Who's problem is it?, Time & resource issues, Moral issues, Cost burden, Managing risks & planning contingencies, Legal implications, Outsourcing options, HCFA issues, Year 2000 team building, Defining Year 2000 compliance, Developing the project plan & checklists.

Step 2: Inventory Analysis
Contract & warranty reviews, Embedded systems, LIMS inventory, Instruments & equipment inventory, COTS inventory, Hardware inventory, Facilities inventory, Supply chains inventory Data exchange inventory, Information collection repository.

Step 3: Event Horizons, Triage & Risk Assessment
Event horizons, Triage strategies, Risk assessment & matrix, Business risks, Technical risks, Financial risks, Legal risks, Insurance protection, Information collection repository.

Step 4: Using Online Internet-based Resources
Researching online, Using search engines, Regulatory agency web sites, Year 2000 web sites, Year 2000 consultants & professional organizations, Information collection repository.

Step 5: Contacting Vendors
Developing an effective vendor action campaign, Writing vendor letters, Deciphering a vendor's response, Sample vendor letters, Information collection campaign.

Step 6: Remediation
Strategies, Upgrade?, Re-engineer?, Replace? Retire? Information collection repository.

Step 7: Certification Review
The certification (audit) review process, Information collection repository.

Step 8: Contingency Planning
Contingency planning is good business, Business continuity plan, Developing a plan, Contents of a plan, Sample contingency plan, Information collection repository.

Step 9: Post Year 2000 Activities
Identifying things left undone, Inventory analysis, Remediation, Certification review, Information collection repository.

Get this important Year 2000 how to planning and strategy guide on your desk now!

In one comprehensive guide, The Year 2000 How To Guide for Medical Laboratories gives you the information you need, step-by-step, to understand the unique challenges this problem presents while providing a practical approach in preparing laboratories for the next millennium.

Plus, as an added bonus, you'll find information on frequently asked Year 2000 questions (FAQs); the Science of Year 2000; popular Internet search engines, vendor Year 2000 databases and web sites, and a comprehensive index to quickly locate a specific topic.