IN 2000, a computer error at a Sheffield Hospital in Britain led to pregnant women being put in the wrong risk category for Down syndrome babies.

The system misdiagnosed the ages of the expectant mothers, 158 of whom were told they were at low risk when in fact they were in a high-risk group.

Had they known the truth they probably would have proceeded with further screening that would have revealed six had pregnancies affected by Down syndrome. It was later revealed the computer software was not Y2K compliant.

It's the kind of horror story that can erode public confidence in the systems set up to create greater efficiency and accuracy. And that, said Queensland University of Technology's Peter Croll, was critical.

Professor Croll, director of QUT's Centre for IT Innovation, is investigating the risk exposure in electronic health systems.

Australian IT

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2004