Elaine Glaser, R.N., has been a nurse for 14 years and a Visiting Nurse
since January 2000. She used to spend three to four hours every night doing
her paperwork after a full day caring for patients. She now spends 1 to
1 1/2 hours a day completing the same tasks. She uses her pda along with a
miniature modem and a portable keyboard to securely access schedules, patient
charts, and extensive medical references, and to fill out and submit nursing
forms.
"People are nurses because they love nursing," Glaser says. "This program
allows me to have a life, too. The best part of the pda is that it makes my
life a lot easier -- once nursing can get rid of paperwork, there is going to
be a big change."
The proprietary nursing software was written by the Visiting Nurse's
Association's CEO, Jeneane Brian, a maverick nurse and MBA who states that
"Quality nursing for our community is the entire focus at VNA. Researching
and developing ways to improve the quality of our nurses' lives allows them to
pass that care on to our patients."