Handhelds Give Quick Access to Critical Reference Information, Patient Records and Clinical Data at Point of Care
University Hospital Cincinnati Uses Hundreds of Palm TX Handhelds Equipped with Software for Mobile Patient Information Access

The University Hospital Cincinnati, a leading provider of quality healthcare, cutting-edge research and education for more than 182 years, chose Palm(R) TX handhelds as well as Palm LifeDrive(TM) mobile managers and Palm Treo(TM) smartphones to increase efficiency and provide patients the highest quality of care. Using Palm TX handhelds and LifeDrive mobile managers, physicians can take advantage of the hospital's Wi-Fi network for fast, remote wireless access. In addition to numerous healthcare applications running on more than 500 Palm devices to reference medical information, physicians have access to patient records, lab results, x-ray reports, vital signs and email(1), all in a form factor that fits comfortably in a lab-coat pocket.

The University Hospital was the first hospital in the United States founded primarily for teaching purposes. Along with providing patient assistance, it has continued to be a major research and education institution. It recently received the 2006 VHA Leadership Award for clinical excellence in cardiac care; has been repeatedly named one of the Top 15 Teaching Hospitals in the United States by Solucient, an information products company serving the healthcare industry; and was listed as one of America's Best Hospitals by U.S. News and World Report.

"Palm handhelds help our physicians significantly decrease the amount of time they spend running between patient rooms and offices," explained Dr. Mark Schroer, director of the hospitalist program. "All the critical information they need is on hand at all times making it extremely beneficial for patient and doctor alike."

Dr. Schroer estimates that using his LifeDrive mobile manager loaded with applications for various tasks, such as transcribing patient notes, saves him at least an hour a day and approximately seven hours a week. He also can use the device to review pertinent patient information while on call at home, giving him the ability to make better decisions and respond immediately to a patient requiring emergency care.

"By saving time on administrative trivia, physicians have more time and energy to dedicate to patient care," added Schroer. "And now that our physicians don't always have to write things down, the potential for making medical errors when copying patient information to paper is eliminated."

Physicians at University Hospital use several business-critical healthcare applications, including MercuryMD MData, Epocrates, New Innovations, PregTrak, Merck Manual and SecureID. Palm devices running these healthcare applications further advance efficiencies, decrease costs, improve the quality of patient care and reduce medical errors.

"We give mobile professionals the tools to increase workflow productivity, gather information and easily manage their data," said Tara Griffin, vice president of enterprise markets for Palm. "Palm continues its dedication to healthcare by providing hospitals easy-to-use handheld solutions that integrate into existing infrastructures to help physicians, residents and staff provide the best patient care possible."