FP Report -- February 1999 HCFA offers tips to tackle Y2K problem
The Health Care Financing Administration has named the Y2K bug as its top priority, working to ensure computer systems will keep processing claims for 70 million Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
Y2K refers to the impending problem of some computers mistaking the year 2000 for 1900 because they only read the last two digits. If the problem isn't addressed, health care providers could experience delayed payments or disruptions in receiving data.
HCFA encourages physicians to develop a Y2K readiness plan. One suggested plan includes five steps: (1) Become aware of how the year 2000 can affect your system. Identify entities that you depend on and that depend on you, inventory both hardware and software programs, and identify items you can't live without. (2) Assess the readiness of everything on your list by contacting vendors or checking appropriate web sites. (3) Update or replace systems and software programs that you decide are important for your office to function. (4) Test your existing and newly purchased systems and software; don't assume they're Y2K-ready. (5) Develop business continuity plans to take effect if problems arise. Focus on issues that would be most problematic for you and your patients. For example, what will you do if claims can't be sent in the right format to an insurer or the payroll system doesn't function appropriately?
HCFA has released additional information on its plans for dealing with Y2K and tips to help providers tackle the problem at their own offices. The Academy will compile the information into an appendix to the AAFP monograph, Family Physicians and the Year 2000: Preventive Medicine for the Millennium Bug, by March 1. You can order the free monograph and appendix (item #R710) or just the appendix (item #R709) by calling the AAFP order department at (800) 944-0000.
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department. Copyright © 1999 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
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