Jackson Memorial Hospital Deploys Palm Handhelds; eAnesthesiaSoftware Develops Solutions to Streamline Business Processes for Anesthesia Providers

SAN DIEGO, HIMSS Conference & Expo, Feb. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Some of the nation's largest and most innovative healthcare organizations are turning to Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) to streamline business processes and improve overall patient care. Using Palm(TM) handheld computers, healthcare providers can easily access and manage critical information at the point of care, where decision support is so critical. And healthcare organizations are able to more efficiently manage their businesses and improve patient safety and satisfaction.

Palm's focus on promoting solutions that assist in addressing critical healthcare issues -- patient safety, quality of care, decision support, HIPAA(1) compliance, security -- has made the company a leading handheld provider for the healthcare industry. And because the open, flexible platform integrates easily with existing technology infrastructures, Palm handhelds also have become the preferred choice among healthcare administrators and IT managers.

Jackson Memorial Hospital Extends Handheld Strategy

Jackson Memorial Hospital, the teaching hospital for the University of Miami School of Medicine, hosts the nation's largest residency program for training anesthesiologists. Recently, the hospital began the first phase of a handheld initiative, purchasing 150 Palm handhelds for the residents, faculty and staff of the anesthesiology department. The first project was the conversion of paper-based clinical guidelines, such as the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) recommendations, into interactive guidelines for the Palm handheld.

Jackson Memorial Hospital uses Gothic Software's Residency Partner, a custom software program that provides a comprehensive approach to tracking a resident's education, to track the resident's clinical experiences via Palm OS(R) based applications. The department plans to use the handhelds for decision support and will deploy interactive applications focused on education, research support and clinical care, enabling access to critical information at the point of patient care.

"We are continuously exploring ways to integrate technology into the clinical environment in order to develop better ways to treat our patients, train our residents, and better utilize available data," said Thomas Powell, M.D., director of Anesthesia Information Systems for the Department of Anesthesia, Perioperative Medicine, and Pain Management at Jackson Memorial. "Palm handhelds are an important part of the future of healthcare informatics. We chose Palm because of its stability and commitment to supporting technology solutions that aim to make the practice of medicine more efficient and better for organizations and patients alike."

eAnesthesiaSoftware Develops Solutions to Streamline Efficiencies for Anesthesia Providers

Anesthesia providers can see up to 10 patients on an average day. Each patient record requires a minimum of four reports: the patient's anesthesia record, billing information, medication instructions and quality assurance. Previously, providers had to complete all four reports manually, laden with duplicate data, and hand-deliver them to the pharmacy and billing departments. Now, using eAnesthesiaSoftware MOSES, the provider has to input the information only once, and the software automatically updates all four reports and electronically delivers patient data to the appropriate departments.

Not only does this streamline administrative functions, but it also creates a uniform standard for reporting. Billing, pharmacy and administrative offices no longer have to call the provider to get clarification on medication or patient instructions due to poor handwriting or misplaced forms. Running on a Palm handheld, which fits comfortably in a lab coat pocket, the MOSES software provides mobility and ease of use for time-crunched medical professionals who are often running back and forth between pre-operative care, surgery and recovery.

"By removing the paper-based redundancies and streamlining reporting and billing procedures, the anesthesia provider can spend more time focusing on patient safety. In our business, that's the one thing that matters most," said John Michael Borza, president and chief executive officer of Pittsburgh-based eAnesthesiaSoftware.

About Jackson Memorial Hospital

Additional information about Jackson Memorial Hospital can be found at http://um-jmh.org/ .

About eAnesthesiaSoftware

Additional information about eAnesthesiaSoftware can be found at http://www.eanesthesiasoftware.com .

About Palm, Inc.

Information about Palm, Inc. is available at http://www.palm.com/aboutpalm

(1) HIPAA is the acronym for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

NOTE: Palm OS is a registered trademark and Palm is a trademark of Palm, Inc. Other brands may be trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Palm, Inc.