Virtual nursing, like telehealth, has become a crucial part of health systems in recent years and is expected to continue growing. Both improve access to healthcare for people who can’t easily travel to medical facilities, especially those living in rural areas or with mobility challenges. It also ensures continuity of care by connecting patients with the nurses they know and who are familiar with their needs.
It’s not a new idea, either. For example, Samsung helped St. Luke’s Health System develop a 24/7 virtual platform in 2018. Based in Boise, the facility built a virtual care center that connects nurses with rural care providers and their patients to make care more accessible.
This need for virtual nursing is only increasing, especially as nurse shortages persist and potentially overwhelm existing staff. Virtual nursing helps healthcare organizations address these challenges, especially when paired with the right technology to succeed. Here’s how.
Relieving the burden on nurses
Virtual nursing reduces the strain on floor nurses, allowing them to focus more on direct patient care. In fact, a single nurse or clinical staff member can monitor multiple rooms at a time from a desktop monitor. They can speak with each patient and notify the staff if anything goes wrong.
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With the right tools, a virtual nurse can take on almost any task that involves putting a nurse in front of a computer. For example, some hospitals are turning to virtual discharges, as a remote nurse or case manager can provide thorough, unrushed discharge education. This reduces the burden on floor nurses, improving productivity and giving them more time to focus on in-person care.
Many floor nurses report that virtual care helps them better balance their workload, and their patients appreciate the more focused attention from the on-site care team. That was the case with Nashville-based HCA Healthcare, which launched several virtual nursing pilots to great success. Virtual nurses proved especially valuable in admissions, medication history, discharge education and rounding.
Ochsner Health in Louisiana piloted its virtual nurse model in a community hospital, allowing a remote nurse — sometimes working from home — to collaborate with the patient team. This approach helps hospitals efficiently allocate resources, enhance care quality and reduce readmissions, according to The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. The pilots have increased nurses’ work satisfaction and improved retention.
Encouraging nurses to stay in the workforce
More than a quarter of all nurses report that they plan to leave nursing or retire over the next five years, according to the National Nursing Workforce Survey. It’s part of a trend: Between 2020 and 2022, the workforce lost at least 200,000 experienced RNs and 60,000 experienced LPNs/LVNs.
Virtual models can keep nurses in the workplace longer by allowing them to remain in direct patient care roles without the physical demands of hospital floor work, notes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This is especially beneficial for nurses nearing retirement. Virtual models help these experienced nurses continue providing expert care while sharing their institutional knowledge, without the physical strain of bedside care.
Remote nurse, remote patients
Advances in digital health technology make it possible for hospitals to better manage acute and long-term conditions for patients where they are. Remote nursing supports hospital-at-home models, allowing nurses to provide care in the patient’s own home. For example, Massachusetts General Brigham offers virtual care services seven days a week for health issues that don’t require emergency care, and they are available to anyone with an internet connection and compatible device.
Research published by BMC Health Services indicates that this approach can reduce mortality and hospital readmissions. That, then, frees up beds and staff to focus on more critical and emergency cases.
Monitors are key to virtual nursing success
Success in virtual nursing technology requires the right technology — especially the right monitors. That’s because virtual care monitors need to accomplish more tasks than typical hospital monitors, including the need to monitor several patients at one time and offer comfort to nurses who must sit there for long hours.
These considerations and others went into the design of Samsung’s 34-inch ViewFinity S65VC monitor. Its ultra-wide QHD curved display matches the human field of vision, bringing all relevant information into view at once. Using the ViewFinity S65VC, a nurse can monitor multiple patient rooms from a single screen — and at eye level, thanks to the adjustable stand. The curve also reduces eye strain, and TUV-certified Intelligent Eye Care technology enhances that by minimizing blue light exposure.
Samsung designed this monitor for ease of use, too. Its plug-and-play setup enables nurses to easily connect any device to the monitor with a USB-C port and transmit data through a single cable. The same connection charges your device, which allows you to power your device and transmit data with a single cable. A LAN port also enables connection to a LAN-less laptop for Ethernet use.
The monitor’s camera and speakers make launching virtual sessions a snap, and when they’re finished, the camera can be retracted for security and confidentiality. Windows Hello facial recognition software adds another layer to that.
Virtual nursing: A force multiplier
With the right technology, such as Samsung’s ViewFinity S65VC monitor, virtual nursing becomes a force multiplier. One experienced nurse can support many colleagues and even more patients. This enhances patient care, boosts nurse satisfaction and helps ensure continuity of care. More importantly, it translates to more positive patient outcomes.
Discover how to make virtual care more secure with this free guide to healthcare mobile security. Also learn more about how health systems can support their clinical teams during staffing shortages.
