Jeneanne Brian is also CEO of the Visiting Nurses Association Home Health Systems in Santa Ana, California, and was the impetus behind the deployment, which consisted of PalmIIIc and PalmIIIxe handheld computers or Handspring Visor handheld devices running Pendragon Forms to create iForms, a custom software solution.

"We automated most of the paperwork we do at each visit by putting the forms on the PDA," Brian explained. "For example, when they access the nursing progress report, the patient’s address, diagnosis, and similar demographic information can be added to the form in one keystroke from a look-up list. We also have menus with frequently used terms that the nurse can place in the form with only one click."

After documenting their daily visits, each nurse syncs their handheld to send their data to the Santa Ana VNA’s digital chart room, or data repository.

In July, the Santa Ana VNA began testing a pocket-sized ECG to identify post-operate cardiac patients who need additional monitoring. Using the ActiveECGT device, the nurse attaches three wires to the patient’s chest; the results are instantly recorded through the PDA and transmitted to the cardiac surgeon.

The VNA also plans to roll out a wound-care program that will allow nurses to use a digital camera and transmit images to a consultant over the Internet.