Dr. Kenneth J. Simmons knows his early planning will pay off while other practitioners panic.

The root of all this work lies in a simple programming decision made during the 1960s. Assuming technological evolution would make their coding obsolete before 2000, programmers abbreviated years with two-digit codes-1968 became 68. But later programmers built on existing systems rather than creating new codes. Because chips assume a 19 prefix, computers presumably will reset to 1900 when 2000 arrives. However, each computer type carries its own default date-DOS computers will display Jan. 4, 1980. Every veterinary hospital contains numerous electronics with embedded microchips, and nobody knows how many will fail when New Year's Day arrives.

Keeping ahead of the bug

With less than a year to address the Y2K bug, veterinary practices must begin analyzing their situations immediately. Don't just assume the rest of the world will fix the problem - outside compliance won't prevent your computers, phones, fax, and medical equipment from failing.

Before you panic, consider your options. Finding and replacing every embedded microchip may prove impossible. Instead, doctors must prioritize their efforts based on each system's importance to daily operations. Define mission-critical systems-those that are essential to daily business. If your fax prints an incorrect date, that's not a critical problem. You can write the correct date on faxed lab results before filing them. But if your accounting system reverts to 1900 and erases accounts receivable, you'll face countless hours rebuilding records. Dr. Brent Calhoun, a practice-management consultant and owner of Veterinary Business Solutions Inc. in West Bloomfield, Mich., advises his clients to perform a complete hospital audit, searching for any device with date and time monitoring.

Once you've compiled an equipment list, designate degrees of importance. Check these prioritized items during your Y2K audit:

1. Computers. For most veterinarians, computers form the practice's backbone. Without the ability to process invoices or access medical records, your business can't function. Patient records and databases are the No. I asset to safeguard, says Gary 1. Glassman, CPA, a partner with Burzenski & Co. P.C. in East Haven, Conn. Tied to these records is the reminder system, your No. 2 concern, says the VETERINARY ECONOMICS Editorial Advisory Board member.

Some veterinarians may already be experiencing reminder problems. If Scruffy's next appointment is Jan. 4, 2000, your computer may not recognize the date and fail to send a reminder. Worse yet, it could freeze trying to process this information.

Large animal practitioners must closely safeguard computer systems as well, says Dr. David D. Horn, a large animal practice-management consultant for Brakke Consulting Inc. in Greenich, N.Y., and a former dairy practitioner. "Besides computerized billing, accounts receivable, and inventory tracking, many large animal veterinarians use computers for herd-health analysis, mastitis-control programs, and reproduction information," he says. "Farmers often store years of herd-health records on their computers." If farmers' computers aren't 2000 compliant, veterinarians could lose years of hard work. Farmers also store business information unrelated to veterinary medicine, so they have an extra incentive to ensure compliance. Dr. Horn suggests each large animal practitioner host a Y2K producer meeting to improve computer literacy, share resources, and emphasize compliance's importance.

Large animal practitioners can't rely on frequent software upgrades to guarantee compliance, Dr. Horn says. Upgrades often don't involve the entire program, or they may not apply to the hospital's clients. The more information an upgrade includes, the more likely veterinarians are to adopt it, regardless of client demographics.

Several companies offer software packages to help you check computers' compliance. WRQs Express 2000 Suite scans networked desktops and reveals non compliant applications and basic input/output system (BIOS) chips and tracks software for prioritization. Check 2000 PC from Greenwich Mean Time-UTA offers a similar program to scan software and hardware and tell you how 2000 will affect your data. For networked computers, the company makes Check 2000 Client Server to scan spreadsheets and databases.

Dr. Steven D. Garner, Dipl. ABVP, chief of staff and owner of Safari Animal Care Centers in League City, Texas, bought one of these packages and says his peace of mind was worth the expense. "Some of our equipment is 4 years old, but we haven't found any problems yet," he says.

Such safeguards are important, but Glassman predicts software will cause more troubles than hardware. "Hardware is easier to diagnose," he says. "If your machine is more than two years old, investigate compliance and determine whether to upgrade." This may be a good time to consider new software systems or upgrade to Windows. The least expensive option is upgrading current systems, for a longer-term solution, investigate new veterinary software. You must consider two computer aspects:

Hardware. Only 20 percent of personal computers made in 1995 are Y2K compliant. All personal computers contain BIOS chips, which provide an interface for hardware and software operation. The BIOS boots the computer through a basic set of instructions and interfaces the underlying hardware with the operating system. You might not discover a BIOS problem by simply resetting the computer's clock. You must upgrade the BIOS, replace the motherboard, or buy a new machine.

Software. Also check out software programs. Dr. Calhoun says most veterinary software companies will recommend an upgrade, which can mean investing $6,000 to $20,000 in new hardware and software.

Dr. Simmons' veterinary software manages 29,000 client records. He received written compliance certification from his vendor but knows frequent upgrades assisted his approval. "Sometimes this means we receive software that still needs kinks worked out," he says. "We volunteer to beta test new programs and give our vendor feedback on ways to improve."

2. Phone system. When a hospital employs 14 doctors and more than 75 staff members and contains six specialty practices, communication is critical. At Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists in Houston, winner of a 1998 Practice of Excellence Award, president Dr. William D. Liska, Dipl. ACVS, says doctors and staff members are most concerned about the 100 line phone system. "If the phone system shut down tomorrow, we'd spend whatever it took to get it back up," says the co-owner of Gulf Coast Veterinary Surgery. "So it makes sense to ensure it won't go down."

Many practitioners share Dr. Liska's concern. Dr. Simmons is taking steps to safeguard his phone system. The clinic uses a digital system with autoattendant voice mail, and the systems administrator received written verification of Y2K compliance. Because Dr. Simmons invested $20,000 in the new system last year, he's eager to protect it.

3. Accounting systems. Glassman ranks accounting as the third most important system to safeguard because you can always recreate accounting records. Most veterinary accounting software companies offer Y2K-compliant upgrades.

4. Environmental systems. Check your heating and cooling systems and programmable thermostats to avoid sudden temperature changes that can affect animals and employees.

5. Monitoring equipment. Your anesthetic monitors and pulse oximeter run timers, so they may experience problems in 2000. Check your equipment before you put patients at risk and face liability issues.

6. In-house lab. Call the manufacturer for compliance information on all lab equipment. Ask about tests you can run to ensure your hospital continues to get accurate lab results.

7. Diagnostic equipment. If you use a radiograph, ultrasound machine, endoscope, laser surgery unit, or ECG, contact the manufacturer. Also see whether your service agreement includes upgrades or preventive maintenance that can address Y2K problems.

8. Office equipment. You use a credit-card machine, fax, cash register, answering machine, time clock, and postage meter daily, so ensure they'll run in 2000. Credit-card companies faced the Y2K issue as early as 1996, when verification terminals refused cards bearing a 00 expiration date.

9. Physical facility. Check your security system, sprinklers, electronic safe, irrigation system, and elevator.

10. Bank. Many institutions are policing the banking system's Y2K preparedness. The federal government assigned grades to banks but won't release this information to the public. Instead, regulators encourage banks to inform customers about their Y2K compliance efforts. If your hospital uses direct-deposit services for payroll or to transfer funds between accounts, be sure to ask about these electronic transactions' compliance.

11. Suppliers. Make sure your vendors and pharmaceutical representatives can process your orders and ship supplies. If they won't guarantee compliance, you may need to switch companies.

12. Outside lab. At Simmons Veterinary Clinic, pathology reports feed directly into the computer. But Dr. Simmons isn't worried about compliance, because the reports won't affect his operating systems. If you're concerned, request documentation.

For large animal practitioners, most outside labs are based in veterinary schools, Dr. Horn says. This means veterinarians must rely on the schools' efforts. "If you're using a lab that can't guarantee compliance, you may decide to send samples elsewhere," Dr. Horn says. Because few labs outside universities can handle large animal samples, consider one that runs samples- from such diverse sources as human and small and large animal hospitals. Their involvement with human medicine makes it more likely they'll be Y2K compliant, he says.

13. Mobile technology. Many practitioners use pagers, cell phones, and laptop computers. Large animal veterinarians tap laptop computers for many purposes, from balancing rations on the farm to storing forage sample analyses. Doctors also generate data on the farm's computer, then store it on a disk to download later into the practice's computer, so ask farmers about their compliance.

14. Sterilizer.An autoclave contains an embedded microchip to run the timer, so ask the manufacturer to test its Y2K readiness.

15. Vehicles. This is a special concern for large animal practitioners, but it can affect small animal clinics as well. For example, Cherokee Animal Clinic and Cherokee Cat Clinic in Overland Park, Kan., winners of a 1999 Practice of Excellence Award, use a pet taxi to transport patients. Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler representatives say engine computers don't incorporate dates in their processes. But experts predict the millennium bug will affect many automobiles.

16. Internet. Check to make sure your Web site, e-mail, and Internet service provider pass muster.

17. Telemedicine. The main telemedicine concern involves whether you send information directly to a specialist's modem or use an Internet based service. Dr. Brian A. Poteet, Dipl. ACVR, co-owner of Gulf Coast Veterinary Oncology and Gulf Coast Diagnostic Imaging, divisions of Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists in Houston, uses both systems and says doctors may simply have to wait until the millennium to uncover problems.

Referring veterinarians aren't asking Dr. Poteet's compliance status, probably because they aren't thinking that far ahead. "As busy as practitioners are managing cases and other compliance issues, they're not asking about referral radiographs," he says. Dr. Poteet says many practitioners who tap telemedicine work on technology's cutting edge, so they shouldn't encounter compliance problems.

18. Buying groups. If your practice participates in a drug-buying program, make sure software and computers used for ordering will continue to work after 2000.

19. Client and staff amenities. You can live without the radio, coffee maker, TV, VCR, and microwave for a while, but you may end up replacing these items.

Devote resources to compliance

Costs may prove the prime consideration in veterinarians' Y2K compliance efforts. "Doctors must decide whether to make small changes to control costs, keep what they have, or completely change software and hardware," Glassman says. To upgrade your hardware, you may spend $5,000 to $7,000, plus $2,500 to $8,000 for new veterinary software. Dr. Garner estimates compliance cost him $5,000, and he employs a full-time programmer who handles most of the work.

When evaluating systems, remember the two degrees of Y2K compliance: the vendor's stated compliance and tested compliance. Most veterinarians will rely on vendors' guarantees, but what if you can't get an answer? Dr. Calhoun suggests calling technical support and asking what you must do to test the system.

Before conducting a date test on your computer, follow your manual's instructions to create a boot floppy in case changing the date on your hardware causes it to freeze. Also close time- sensitive applications and make a full backup.

Everyone knows Jan. 1, 2000, may cause problems, but bugs can start showing up as early as April, when practices begin their new fiscal year and start making calculations going into 2000. Check how your computer rolls into and out of these dates:

April 9, 1999 - Similar to Sept. 9, 1999, this 99th day of 1999 may cause problems for some computers.

Sept. 9, 1999 - Programmers in the 1980s used this as a nonsense expiration date for data that shouldn't expire and a mask default when programmers didn't enter a date.

Jan. 1, 2000 - This is probably the most important date to test.

Feb. 29, 2000 - Most century years aren't leap years, but 2000 is an exception. Will computers recognize this? Because testing and upgrading equipment can take months, Dr. Liska anticipates Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists will be Y2K compliant by mid - 1999. The practice hired a computer consultant who will check three terminals a day, so it may take several weeks to test all computer systems.

Do you need a contingency plan?

The best move you can make to ensure your business flows smoothly into 2000 is to start working now. Request documentation from every vendor and supplier, but don't stop there. Take time to test systems to guarantee compliance.

Developing a contingency plan can bring peace of mind. If a software vendor refuses to offer a written compliance guarantee, you may need to find another that will ensure compliance. Don't wait until you see a problem to consider switching, and don't assume the company will solve the Y2K problem for you. Dr. Simmons hasn't developed plans for a worst- case scenario, but he will back up his entire system on Dec. 31, 1999, just in case.

With so much hype surrounding Y2K, it's difficult to judge just how serious the problem could be. At the least, entering 2000 may cause system failures and create headaches for many businesses. Do your homework now to avoid problems and possible last-minute expenses. Keeping systems current will ensure your veterinary hospital functions in the new millennium.

Compliance timeline

Start your Y2K strategy now

Don't wait until the last minute to begin guaranteeing your system'sY2K compliance. Depending on your practice's size, the number of computers you use, and veterinary and accounting software programs, reaching compliance could take as long as six months. Here's a timeline to plan your hospital's successful compliance:

1. Inventory your systems. List all hardware, software, equipment, phones, and other systems that may stall in 2000.
Allow One Week

2. Investigate compliance. Ask vendors and manufacturer, to document that their equipment and ordering systems meet Y2K guidelines, If they won't, run tests or switch vendors.
Allow Two Months

3. Decide what you need to buy. For all systems or equipment that won't pass 2000 tests, you'll need to decide whether to upgrade or replace the items.
Allow One Month

4. Place your order. The sooner you request new equipment, the sooner you can reach compliance. Vendors may experience back orders as early as spring. Also plan for computer installation and training time.
Allow Two Months

5. Train employees. If you switch to a new veterinary software provider, staff members will require training.
Allow One Week

6. Consider integration testing. Many businesses with multiple Y2K-compliant software programs are conducting extra tests to check integration between programs.
Allow One Week

Internet resources

Try these helpful Y2K Web sites

Year 2000 compliance will impact all computer users, so Web sites abound with helpful information. You also can search for Web sites from specific hardware or software manufacturers to address compliance concerns. These sites, which you can link to through our site at www.vetmedpub.com/ve, can help you solve your practice's Y2K challenges:

www- act.ucsd.edu/year2000/y2kpref.html
The University of California in San Diego's site tells how Y2K affects software, hardware, and facilities and provides vendor links.

www.ibm.com/ibm/year2000
IBM's site includes a planning guide, product offerings, and checklist to prepare for 2000.

www.microsoft.com/year2000/?RLD=53
Home of the Microsoft Year 2000 Resource Center, this site contains a product guide, white papers, frequently asked questions, and tools for Microsoft customers.

www.y2ktool.com
Subscribing to Y2K Tool gives you access to checklists, software downloads, books, a readiness kit, and other Y2K sites.

www.y2knet.com
The Year 2000 National Education Taskforce offers a free e-mail newsletter, Y2K survival guide, and seminar listings.

www.sba.gov/y2k
The Small Business Administration provides Y2K training and offers press information, a self-assessment checklist, and solution resources.

www.lycos.com/comp uters/flash/y2k.html
Lycos' information includes links to news coverage, Web sites, and chat groups.

www.mbs-program.com
This site from the IT Awareness Campaign offers news and a vendor list and lets you shop for software.

www.year2000.com
This site features news, conferences, hardware- and software- compliance information, and an extensive list of Y2K-compatible vendors.

www.compu terworld.com/news/year_2000/index.html
Computerworld's site includes a resources list, scoreboard, news, and chronicles of companies' Y2K projects.

www.isquare.com/y2k.htm
This Web site defines the problem, steps to take, and options for small-business owners. It also contains a link to a Y2K compliance test.

www.y2klinks.com
This free service links to many Y2K resources, including The Year 2000 Conference Center, and lets users search a links database.

www.itaa.org/year2000
ITAA's Y2K site offers a vendor directory, publications, newsletter, calendar of events, and more.

www.y2kjournal.com
Year/2000 Journal's site lets you subscribe to the online publication, read back issues, and preview an upcoming issue.

www.mitre.org/research/y2k
This Y2K site features information on certification, compliance, solutions, contingency plans, and costs.

mitvma.mit.edu/mity2k
MIT Project Year 2000's site defines the problem and provides a hardware- and software-compliance list.

www.RighTime.com
This site provides a Y2K compliance test to check your basic input/output system (BIOS), software, and hardware.