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the educational initiative. 2. Calculation of the total number ofmedications, PIMs, and the ABS score at the time of admission,transfer, and discharge with statistical comparison at each point ofpatient care.Results or Clinical Course: Analysis of 22 patients was con-ducted and compared to data collected pre- and post-inter-vention.Total number of medications decreased from 13.08 to11.75 (10.18%), the number of PIM’s decreased from 3.77 to 2.80(25.73%), and the ABS score decreased from 1.84 to 1.65(10.22%).Conclusions: The use of the MAT in combination with poly-pharmacy rounds, appears to be an effective means to encourageappropriate prescribing practices for reducing the total number ofmedications, PIMs, and the ABS score at discharge in patients overthe age of 65.

Poster 576Enhancing Communication within an InpatientRehabilitation Facility: A Quality ImprovementProject.Amy Cao, MD (Baylor/UT-Houston Alliance, Houston, TX,United States); George Kannakeril, MD;McCasey Smith, MD; Matthew Roh, MD; Trung Ha, MD;Erike Moody, MD; Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, MD.

Disclosures: A. Cao, No Disclosures: I Have No RelevantFinancial Relationships to Disclose.Objective: To test the hypothesis that page forwarding willenhance communication timeliness and effectiveness in an Inpa-tient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF).Design: The PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) project outlineprovided by Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) wasused for this Quality Improvement Project (QIP). Pre and post-intervention surveys were provided to hospital staff to grade satis-faction regarding pager communication.Setting: Large IRF in Texas that provides training for a robustPM&R residency training program.Participants: Staff at a 119-bed IRF were asked to participate.This group was comprised of nursing, radiology, physical therapy,occupational therapy, speech therapy, case management, socialwork, residents, staff attendings, technicians, and admissions.Interventions: A 2 week trial of page forwarding was imple-mented. Smartphone availability remained unchanged. Residentswere asked to notify page operator whenever coming off service e.g.vacation, post-call, sick. Residents were asked to request that theirpager be forwarded to the covering attending’s pager for a preciseduration of time.Main Outcome Measures: Pre and post-intervention surveysassessing staff satisfaction, number of pages received, and subjectiveease of communication.Results or Clinical Course: Analysis of results are pending.Preliminary results show a decrease in total number of pages toresidents as well as a decrease in number of erroneous residentpages, however, attendings report an increase in non-essentialpages. An overwhelming majority of hospital staff, particularlynursing, prefer the use of smartphones over the paging system.Conclusions: Final conclusions are pending result analysis. Atthis time page forwarding appears to improve the ease ofcommunication. However, staff attendings found the increase inpages due to forwarding to be disruptive of their daily work. With

increasing interruptions, there is concern for impaired attention andincreased errors. This study reveals deficiencies in other areas ofcommunication, paving the way for future QIP opportunities.

Poster 577Functional Independence Measure (FIM®) Scoring inPhysical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R)Residency Training. How Well do Resident PhysiciansKnow the FIM® Instrument?.Christopher Bednarek (Virginia CommonwealthUniversity, Richmond, VA, United States); Ajit B. Pai, MD.

Disclosures: C. Bednarek, No Disclosures: I Have No RelevantFinancial Relationships to Disclose.Objective: To determine the efficacy of FIM® training on PM&Rresidents of all post-graduate year (PGY) experience levels and toshow the benefit for a standard educational method as a startingpoint to improve resident understanding and communication of theFIM® instrument.Design: Pre-test/ post-test study.Setting: Single academic institution PM&R residency program.Participants: Fourteen resident physicians of the VCU residencyprogram ages 27-36 of PGY -2, -3, and -4 levels of experience wereincluded in the study. Exclusion criteria includes formal FIM trainingor completion of a FIM® credentialing examination in the past.Interventions: With permission from UDSMR®, the inpatientrehabilitation facility- patient assessment instrument (IRF-PAI) ratingscenarios packet comprised the 36 pre-test examination questions,the UDSMR® IRF-PAI training materials were utilized for residenteducation in a 60 minute lecture and self- study format, and theonline UDSMR® credentialing examination software was the 36question post-test examination component. UDSMR® IRF-PAItraining materials were available for open-book testing format forboth pre- and post- tests. Participants first completed a written pre-test followed by formal FIM training material overview for lectureand self-study preparation. 7 days later, the online UDSMR® cre-dentialing examination was administered as the post-test.MainOutcomeMeasures: UDSMR® credentialing examination.Results or Clinical Course: 14.3% and 21.4% of residentphysicians passed the pre- and post- tests, respectively. Using anindependent t-test and ANCOVA, the hypothesis that PGY-4 resi-dents would score higher on the FIM® pre-test and post-testexaminations than other residents (PGY-2, -3) was not supported(p¼ 0.331, p¼0.405). A multiple linear regression model was usedto determine that communication of the 6 FIM® categories thatresidents had the most difficulty passing. No significant differencesin the FIM® category post-test scores were found by resident yearon independent t-tests.Conclusions: The education provided did not make a change inpost-test scores and further resident education is endorsed.

Poster 578M&M Rehab: A Novel Approach to Morbidity andMortality Conferences in PM&R Residency Programs.Katherine N. Nanos, MD (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN,United States); Billie A. Schultz, MD.

Disclosures: K. N. Nanos, No Disclosures: I Have No RelevantFinancial Relationships to Disclose.Objective: We aimed to improve resident competency in per-forming system reviews and participation in quality improvement