Time Change Could Result in Medical Malpractice
Posted by
Rick PattersonMarch 15, 2007 12:08 PMAlthough it has been known since 2005 that daylight saving time (DST) would change from its usual time this year, not everyone has prepared for those changes. It seems that daylight saving time may adversely affect computers, clocks, machinery and the like. This would clearly lead to problems i.e., banking. However, what is a much more serious situation than banking, is the adverse affect the change in daylight saving time may have on medical equipment.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), stated that medical equipment that uses date and time information for diagnosis and/or treatment may be at risk. The new DST began at 2:00 a.m. PST on Sunday, March 11. That is three weeks earlier than the usual time change. Additionally, this year, daylight saving time will end one week later than the ususual time.
Unless medical equipment has been updated by the manufacturer, most medical devices that are currently in use will be affected, according to an alert that was sent on Friday from MedWatch - the Food and Drug Administration's safety information and adverse event reporting program.
The types of things that could be affected range from incorrect dose prescribing, missed doses, extra doses, unintended increased/decreased duration of therapy, incorrectly recorded treatment/diagnostic results and dose administration at the wrong time. Hopefully, we won't see unsuspecting patients who will be victims of medical malpractice as they harmed in the process.