Flaws in medical coding can kill

Spread of computers creates new dangers, FDA officials warn By Jonathan D. Rockoff Sun reporter June 30, 2008 After a routine piece of medical equipment started mysteriously killing hospital patients a few years ago, the federal government turned to a small team of its software experts in suburban Maryland for help. The team's discovery - a flaw in a computer code that caused a drug pump to administer heavy overdoses - led to a recall, warnings and rewriting of the equipment's software. The discovery also illustrated a new threat behind some lifesaving medical devices.