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At the same time, HHS' Food and Drug Administration said it remains confident that pharmaceutical supplies and manufacturing are prepared to enter the new year without disruption, and that no serious problems with medical devices are expected to result from Y2K problems. Most medical devices, including all implanted devices, are non-date-dependent and therefore are not at risk. Some hospital-based devices, including diagnostic devices, have date functions which generally affect record-keeping. Hospitals have been advised to contact device manufacturers to determine the Y2K readiness of medical devices in their facilities.

HHS' Health Care Financing Administration has previously reported that all 86 internal Medicare systems are Y2K ready, as are the 75 systems operated by the private companies that administer Medicare payments and enrollment for HCFA.

The department also reported that programs which are run by states, local governments and other organizations, with HHS funding participation, are expected to operate without serious incident. In particular, no state's Medicaid programs or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (welfare) programs are estimated to be at high risk of systems failure. Altogether, HHS oversees and funds some 300 programs, about three-quarters of which are administered by state and local governments and others.

"HHS is ready and waiting for the new year," said HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala. "We've worked hard to prepare. While there are always glitches, no matter what the time of year, we believe any problems will be manageable." At the same time, she said, "HHS will closely monitor its programs and facilities to be sure the roll-over period goes smoothly."

Beginning late this month, HHS and its operating divisions will open 24-hour centers, reporting to the federal Information Coordination Center. Two HHS-supported programs are expected to report results during the early hours of Jan. 1: the Indian Health Service, which operates 36 hospitals, as well as other health facilities; and the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, operated for HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration by the United Network for Organ Sharing, Richmond, Va. Both systems have been verified as Y2K ready. HHS will also check all its own internal systems during the New Year's weekend.

Most other HHS-supported programs, including those operated by states, tribes, local governments and others, will provide reports during the work week that begins Jan. 3. Primary focus of the monitoring for these programs will be to ensure that funds are being transferred properly, and that programs with enrollment eligibility features are functioning properly. HHS funding for health and human services programs totals more than $1 billion per day.

Other Y2K readiness highlights include:

Drugs, Medical Devices -- The FDA regularly maintains a 24-hour emergency operations group to receive any emergency reports of food illness, medical device problems or emergency adverse pharmaceutical events. This center will have extra staff during the roll-over period, with faster-than-normal reporting requirements, in order to deal quickly with any reported problems, whether or not Y2K-related.

FDA, working with a special Y2K alliance of pharmaceutical manufacturers and suppliers, reports that drug supplies have remained above normal. FDA has also determined that the vast majority of medical devices do not use computers and are not significantly affected by Y2K computer issues. Of those devices that are computerized, very few could be affected in a way that might present a risk to patients. For devices that might present risk, such as radiation treatment planning services, FDA has worked with manufacturers to produce independent assessment of Y2K readiness, and to communicate Y2K information to users of the products.

Medicare, Medicaid -- In addition to internal HCFA systems and Medicare contractor systems, HCFA worked closely with states to prepare their own Medicaid systems. While states must continue to refine their detailed business contingency plans, no states are at high risk of Y2K failures in their Medicaid programs. HCFA also reports that all Medicare managed care organizations have recertified that they will be Y2K-ready before the end of the year, and they will be monitored by HCFA.

HCFA also carried out extensive efforts to help providers, including physicians, to prepare their systems so that they will be able to submit Y2K compliant bills. Responses to providers' surveys throughout 1999 have been incomplete, and it is not known whether most providers have addressed their billing systems. While HCFA is confident that physician care for patients will not be affected, some physicians may need to act quickly to upgrade their billing systems, if they have not taken action during 1999.

Disease Monitoring -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention works closely with state health agencies to monitor diseases in the population for potential outbreaks of infectious diseases. CDC collects disease data through a variety of systems all of which have been verified for Y2K compliance. The two most time-sensitive systems for detecting disease outbreaks (the Public Health Laboratory Information System and PulseNet, which checks DNA patterns of certain infectious diseases against a national database) were tested end-to-end in mid-1999 for Y2K compliance. All disease monitoring systems have contingency reporting methods in the event of any system problems. These systems are being closely monitored during the millennium transition.

Further information on HHS readiness is included in the factsheet, "Preparing HHS for the Year 2000," available from the HHS press office or at www.hhs.gov. Another factsheet on HHS monitoring plans for Y2K, "HHS Monitors Health Sector, Joint Public Programs and Internal Systems During New Millenium Roll-Over Period," is also available.

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