Revolutionizing Nursing: The Rise of Virtual Care

By Gail M. Vozzella, SVP and Chief Nurse Executive, Houston Methodist

Virtual nursing is a forward-thinking approach where nurses work remotely from the point of care (POC), partnering with bedside teams to handle various tasks. It leverages advanced technologies to enhance patient care and streamline nursing workflows. Virtual nurses provide continuous support and supervision without being physically present at the bedside using video conferencing, electronic health records (EHRs) and remote patient monitoring (RPM) devices. Virtual nursing can include hourly patient check-ins, verifying medications or analyzing trends in patient data to spot any signs of deterioration quickly. By utilizing it, many organizations also aim to reduce the documentation burden on bedside nurses.

The concept of virtual nursing gained significant traction during the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerating the adoption of digital health solutions. As healthcare systems faced unprecedented challenges, virtual nursing emerged as a viable solution to maintain high-quality care while minimizing physical contact. This shift has paved the way for a more resilient and adaptable healthcare workforce, capable of meeting the evolving needs of patients and healthcare providers.

Houston Methodist has embraced virtual nursing and other technoloiges to reduce the burden of tasks on bedside nurses while sustaining high quality patient care.

Why Virtual Nursing Now?

The COVID-19 pandemic taught us many things, including the invaluable role of bedside nurses. However, the number of nurses is projected to remain the same or decrease over the next ten years while the elderly population increases. Nurses want to focus on patient care but spend 40-60% of their time on documentation.

Benefits of Virtual Nursing

Virtual nursing offers several key benefits that enhance both patient care and nurse satisfaction. By pulling nurses away from the bedside tasks, virtual nursing helps keep them in the profession and decreases burnout. It offers a hybrid model, allowing nurses at different life stages to choose the type of work that suits them best. This flexibility enables nurses to balance their professional and personal lives. Virtual nurses can partner with bedside teams to support patient care, ensuring that nurses have reliable team members to assist with various tasks and enhance overall patient care. Patients also benefit from education delivered through virtual platforms, which offer multiple patient education venues, making accessing the information they need easier. Virtual nursing is an invaluable addition to healthcare systems, promoting better patient care and a more sustainable work environment for nurses.

Challenges of Virtual Nursing

While promising, virtual nursing has several challenges that healthcare organizations must address. Nursing has long followed the same model of care, making change difficult. Shifting to virtual nursing requires a significant shift in mindset and practice, which can be challenging for those accustomed to traditional methods. Disparities in internet access and technological literacy can also reduce the impact of virtual nursing. The infrastructure and support needed for virtual nursing can be costly for organizations, requiring substantial technological investments and reliable internet connectivity. Another challenge is the need for strong partnerships between nursing and IT departments. These two groups must collaborate to develop and implement effective virtual nursing solutions, but do not always speak the same “language.” By overcoming these barriers, organizations can fully leverage virtual nursing’s benefits to enhance patient care and support their nursing workforce.

Virtual Nursing at Houston Methodist

Houston Methodist has embraced virtual nursing by combining this innovative technology with a wireless, wearable device for continuous vital signs monitoring. This device allows for hourly documented vital signs, increasing the chance for early detection of patient deterioration compared to traditional four-hour intervals. Our virtual nursing service can monitor hundreds of patients simultaneously, providing personalized vital signs, trend surveillance and nurse notifications for proactive early clinical interventions.

Early data over six months indicate that more than 300 patients with high heart rates who had communication between virtual nurses and bedside nurses stayed in acute care units rather than being transferred to higher care levels. Patients with early signs of sepsis continued treatment on the floor, receiving antibiotics within the one-hour timeframe. Patient satisfaction scores also improved, with one patient commenting, “I just love this new technology. I was able to sleep much better without being interrupted as frequently for vital signs checks.” These technologies facilitate remote monitoring and timely interventions, ensuring patients receive necessary care while alleviating the workload on bedside nurses.

Conclusion

Virtual nursing is reshaping the nursing workforce and patient care in several impactful ways. By integrating innovative technologies, healthcare organizations can reduce operational costs while improving care coordination. This approach also provides more flexibility, allowing nurses to work remotely. By offloading some of the documentation and routine tasks to virtual nurses, bedside nurses can now focus on what they do best— caring for patients. This shift reduces burnout and keeps nurses in the profession longer, contributing to a more sustainable healthcare workforce. Moreover, virtual-nursing enhances patient safety and engagement.

At Houston Methodist, we are committed to leveraging virtual-nursing to adapt to the evolving demands of the healthcare landscape. We can develop and implement effective solutions that bridge the gap between traditional and modern care practices by fostering strong partnerships between nursing and IT departments. Together, we can continue to positively impact the lives of those we serve, ensuring that our patients receive the highest-quality care while our nurses thrive in a supportive and dynamic work environment.