What is virtual nursing?

Virtual nursing refers to the delivery of patient care and services from a remote location. It is used to supplement care and reduce the burden on bedside nurses. Virtual nursing is used in acute care, ED triage, home health/hospital-at-home, mental health services, chronic care management, and more.

To connect virtual nurses to patients, as well as other members of the care team, organizations typically use an electronic healthcare platform and videoconferencing technology. Virtual nurses often work collaboratively with bedside nurses to educate, round on and monitor patients, document care, and respond to patient and family questions.

During the pandemic, interest in virtual nursing and other remote care options surged as organizations faced growing patient care complexity and significant workforce shortages, which continue to this day.

According to an August 2023 report from Joslin Insight on behalf of AvaSure, 66% of surveyed CNOs said they believe virtual nursing will become integral to acute care delivery models, and 87% said virtual nursing will help recruit or retain nurses who may be unable or unwilling to work at the bedside.

In the report, over 80% of CNOs said nurse satisfaction and retention and improving the workload for current staff were the two most important metrics in virtual nursing programs. Other potential benefits of virtual nursing include mentorship and support for bedside RNs, more flexible work schedules, improved patient experience, better quality of care, and reduced turnover costs.

More organizations are implementing virtual nursing programs

As many hospitals and health systems continue to struggle with workforce shortages, many are turning to new strategies, including virtual nursing, to help them improve their recruitment and retention, reduce stress among nurses, and more.

For example, OSF HealthCare recently launched a virtual nursing program to fill gaps on its med-surg units, as well as improve morale and efficiency among RNs.

"That's one of the hardest positions to fill," said Kelly George, OSF's VP of performance improvement. "And we were seeing that a lot of our nurses [were dealing with] a heavy workload. We decided that we would try anything we could do to better support the staff that we have."

The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) also launched a virtual nursing program roughly a year ago. It initially began as a way to help new nurses acclimate to their duties at the hospital but has since evolved into a more comprehensive program.

MUSC's new virtual nursing program includes a platform that remotely monitors patients and helps RNs with administrative tasks, such as EMR charting, onboarding, and discharges. MUSC plans to debut the program in four of its rural hospitals, where the nursing workforce is struggling the most.

According to HealthLeaders, one of the challenges faced by healthcare leaders hoping to implement virtual nursing programs is their potential return on investment (ROI). Start-up costs for virtual nursing programs can be expensive because new technology and training is usually required. Without a clear ROI, getting funding for a virtual nursing program may be a major hurdle.

Emily Warr, administrator of MUSC's Center for Telehealth, said the organization learned that its first virtual nursing program was "not enough," and that such programs have "to be much more complex and bring more value."

"This program can't just focus on workforce economics or quality [of care]," Warr said. "One is not enough. There has to be a quality component. We've got to impact patient care."

Leaders at OSF are also planning to closely watch the new virtual nursing program, George said. Clinical outcomes, along with nurse retention and satisfaction, will also be included in the program's ROI.

"We recognize that we have to be able to show the value," George said.

Additional resources

To learn more about virtual nursing programs and strategies, check out these Advisory Board resources:

• Virtual nursing: What it is, and why we need it
• Your how-to guide for implementing a virtual nursing program
• How technology can help solve the workforce crisis
• How CHI Health Implemented a Virtual Expert Nurse Staffing Model
• How Avera Health Scaled Clinical Expertise Using a Virtual Hospital Hub

(Wicklund, HealthLeaders, 9/16)