Insulate yourself from potential Y2K shocks

• Published in: Strategy - Canadian Medical Association Vol. 11; no. 2; p. 18
• Main Author: Dermer, Mark
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ottawa Canadian Medical Association 01.02.1999
• Subjects: Computer industry; Medical software; Systems & standards; Time
• ISSN: 0847-2181

Testing and assuring compatibility of medical software is more difficult. The Practice Management department at MD Management has spoken with many physicians who report difficulty obtaining the necessary assurances and software revisions. In some cases, the doctor no longer has a working relationship with his or her software vendor. Unless the physician wishes to use the year 2000 threat as a catalyst for changing his or her software, our advice is to re-establish relationships wherever possible, in order to move forward with confidence. If the vendor is no longer in business, users should invest in new software rather than trying to find a programmer who can modify what they currently have. Another common scenario has involved vendors notifying their clients of the need to buy an upgrade to assure year 2000 compatibility. Some physicians, particularly those who pay for ongoing software support from the vendor, have felt unjustly coerced by such business practices. Unfortunately, the entire software industry has a long history of charging users for repairs to program defects, often by bundling the necessary fixes with additional, unwanted enhancements. If you face such a situation, the wisest course is probably to stick with your current vendor while making the vendor aware you disapprove of its approach to the problem. Problems arise when the device's internal clock compares the current date with another stored date, such as a predetermined maintenance interval. For example, an ultrasound machine could require maintenance every 12 months and would stop operating if the machine notes the current date is more than 365 days since the last service call. If the machine uses only two digits to store the year portion of the date, the transition from an 1999 to 2000 will be recorded as 99 to 00. This will be interpreted to mean that over 98 years have elapsed since the last annual maintenance.