In this case, the < key is important because, of course, the symbol is used to denote measurement values, and in its absence, a reading of "less than" an amount would be read as "equal to" the amount (eg, '<30mg' becomes '30mg').
So this system was written in Basic? Leaving the '<' off of '<=' in most languages does not become 'equal to' but instead assignment which would not be valid in the context of a comparison expression. If it really was some Basic language variant then the system has a bigger problem than this typo bug.
[–] derram ago
https://archive.is/xPQ4F | :
'A bug in code that generates medical reports could force patients in Ireland to repeat their hospital and clinic scans. '
'"In addition, examination reports which are printed from NIMIS RIS and show the symbol correctly on the report are not affected. '
'"The majority of reports are either viewed on paper or electronically within NIMIS RIS, neither of which are affected by the symbol issue," the HSE added. '
'It is also the case that reports sent electronically to GP practices are not affected by this issue."'
'The flaw was found and fixed on July 28 and so far no new errors have been discovered in generated reports. '
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