The State of Virtual Nursing in Healthcare
Introduction
In 2024, just 10% of hospital leaders and 14% of hospital IT leaders have reached the phase where virtual nursing is a standard part of care delivery – in both groups, 30% reported no virtual nursing, according to a new study, "The Virtual Care Insight Survey," from AvaSure, a virtual nursing technology and services company.
Challenges in Implementing Virtual Nursing
Health systems face significant and ongoing workforce challenges, particularly in attracting and retaining qualified clinical staff. These create significant financial difficulties for hospitals, which limits the time and budget to adopt and innovate with new technologies. While paradoxically, it is the new technologies that will support a transformation in care delivery that is needed to address these workforce challenges.
Factors Driving the Growth of Virtual Nursing
There are several stages on the road to virtual care maturity. Virtual care is far from an all-or-nothing or one-size-fits-all model. The providers that have the most success in the realm of virtual care view it as a phased process that begins with select deployments of virtual sitting or virtual nursing solutions. Most organizations that launch virtual care programs start with virtual sitting, which enables virtual safety attendants to watch over patients with video and audio connections, thereby improving patient safety.
Use Cases for Virtual Nursing
Our survey revealed that providers use virtual care to solve their most pressing problems. As such, the top use cases for virtual care are virtual sitting (39%) and offloading documentation, especially patient discharge and admissions.
Conclusion
The survey results indicate that while there are challenges in implementing virtual nursing, there are also significant opportunities for growth and adoption. By understanding the stages of virtual care maturity and the use cases that drive its adoption, healthcare providers can take the first steps towards integrating virtual nursing into their care delivery models.
FAQs
Q: What are the challenges in getting virtual nursing to become a standard way of delivering care?
A: Health systems face significant and ongoing workforce challenges, particularly in attracting and retaining qualified clinical staff. These create significant financial difficulties for hospitals, which limits the time and budget to adopt and innovate with new technologies.
Q: What are the factors driving the growth of virtual nursing?
A: There are several stages on the road to virtual care maturity. Virtual care is far from an all-or-nothing or one-size-fits-all model. The providers that have the most success in the realm of virtual care view it as a phased process that begins with select deployments of virtual sitting or virtual nursing solutions.
Q: What are the top use cases for virtual nursing?
A: Our survey revealed that providers use virtual care to solve their most pressing problems. As such, the top use cases for virtual care are virtual sitting (39%) and offloading documentation, especially patient discharge and admissions.
