THE USE OF PALM HANDHELD COMPUTERS TO CARE FOR NURSING HOME PATIENTS. J.M. Previll 1 ; 1 East Carolina University, Greenville, NC STATEMENT OF PROBLEM OR QUESTION: Our medical school nursing home service has had difficulty monitoring the care of our nursing home patients because different attendings and residents were involved in the care of these patients. These difficulties included not having access to the patient's diagnoses, code status, current medications, pending labs, imaging, or procedures scheduled for the patient, or the subsequent results. There was also the question of when patients must be seen to comply with Medicare and institutional requirements. OBJECTIVES OF PROGRAM/INTERVENTION: The objective was to develop a system that would enable attendings and residents to track all the data on patients and provide better care with this information. DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM/INTERVENTION: A Palm Pilot database called HandBase was used to develop a database that had information on the nursing home patients concerning their location, dates seen, diagnoses, code status, allergies, medications, reports on labs and x-rays, and CPTand ICD-9 codes for billing. HandJet, an interface program, linked the database in the Palm Pilot to a Microsoft Access database located in the Brody School of Medicine computer network. Patient data is protected by passwords in the Palm Pilot and the firewall in the Brody School of Medicine computer network. Changes to patient records can be made during time of visit or by telephone and disseminated to others by infrared beaming between Palm handhelds or hotsyncing to the computer network. FINDINGS TO DATE: This system allows database backup, printing of work lists, and patient data notebooks. It also enables all physicians and staff involved in patient care to have access to information needed in the ongoing care of the nursing patients. Having a current and complete profile on each patient has given the doctors the ability to respond and care for these patients in a more timely manner. Paperwork is simplified for admissions, discharges and scheduling. Documentation is immediate and more detailed, making billing more efficient and accurate, as it is now a part of the report generator. KEY LESSONS LEARNED: Maintaining a database that is mobile improves effectiveness and provides more timely patient care in the nursing care setting.