e-z answers.

"E-Z Answers" is a column of e-mailed responses to a question asked of CLTC readers. There's a different question every month, which appears at the bottom of this column. This month's "B -Z Answers" is brought to you through an unrestricted Senior educational grant from Senior Technologies Inc.

Due to the overwhelming number of responses, CLTC brings you more answers to last month's question:

How has the Internet helped increase productivity in your facility?

Now that we're on the Internet, a doctor can access a resident's records from his office, make diagnoses, and give orders. It has revolutionized the whole time factor as far as making things more economical.--ROD MCKINLEY, ADMINISTRATOR, THREE RIVERS NURSING AND REHABILITATION CENTER, CINCINNATI

It is mostly our department heads and upper management that use the Internet. It's much quicker when you can go on the Internet and get information for Medicare PPS or articles on certain subjects; you don't have to wait until a certain bulletin or publication comes out. For our foodservice, we do quite a bit of online purchasing. We're also working on a pilot program that will provide a computer lab and Internet access for our Senior Center. Some of our nursing home residents already have their own computers with Internet access. --SUSAN KILEY, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, LYNGBLOMSTEN CARE CENTER, ST. PAUL, MINN.

We really have not utilized the Internet much, other than for verifying licenses and for e-mail. As far as using it for admissions, my experience in this particular facility has been that the Internet has not done that much for us.--JOSEPH HIRSCH, ADMINISTRATOR, REGENCY EXTENDED CARE, YONKERS, N.Y.