The role of virtual nursing in elevating healthcare delivery

Virtual nursing technology has become an increasingly important part of the telehealth landscape since the onset of the COVID pandemic, according to the National Institute of Health, allowing nurses to practice remotely and more efficiently by removing tasks from bedside nurses. Still, this technology continues to complement the work of those at the bedside.

Virtual nursing tools allow healthcare facilities to streamline workflows, create efficiencies, and improve patient outcomes. Equally important to consider when talking about virtual nursing is how it impacts the professional and mental well-being of bedside nurses: revolutionizing how healthcare systems deliver patient care and helping nurses practice to the top of their license.

Below, Medical Solutions’ Chief Nursing Officer, Patti Artley, shares why virtual nursing is pivotal in empowering nurses while concurrently elevating the overall quality and safety of patient care.

Virtual care technology amplifies and supports staff

Health systems are starting to utilize virtual nursing models to reduce the workload of their core nursing staff at the bedside, but also to enable nurses who might no longer be able to meet the physical demands of the job to remain in the workforce longer. Virtual nursing provides these nurses the option to transition into a less physically intensive role.

Additionally, having this added support helps reduce burnout and turnover for bedside staff, helping to fill gaps, providing staffing coverage where healthcare facilities may be thin, and infusing flexibility for core nursing staff. Virtual nursing is an important component of an organization’s retention strategy.

This technology streamlines repetitive and time-consuming tasks such as appointment scheduling, billing and documentation, allowing the nurses at the bedside to focus more on direct patient care and critical decision-making. The direct ways in which embracing virtual nursing can impact healthcare systems and facilities are by facilitating efficiency in medication reconciliation and by providing mentoring and coaching support, enhanced patient monitoring and comprehensive assessments.

Streamlining the medication reconciliation process

By relieving core nursing staff of administrative tasks, virtual nurses ensure a more streamlined and accurate medication review of each patient. This enables multiple nurses to have eyes on a single patient to critically analyze their medication regimens to identify potential redundancies or discrepancies.

These interventions enhance patient safety and create a beneficial environment for timely care delivery.

Providing mentorship opportunities

Virtual nursing allows healthcare organizations to embrace a team-based approach and leverage the technology to coach and mentor younger nurses. Seasoned virtual nurses can collaborate with less-experienced clinicians to share their expertise and insights.

This fosters professional development and helps build confidence and comradery among newer nurses.

Implementing early warning systems

Patient care should always take center stage, and virtual nursing makes this objective even easier. Virtual nursing technology and the clinicians behind it can diligently monitor vital signs and detect even the subtlest of changes in a patient’s condition. Some of this technology is so advanced that it can see a small rash or even changes to the pupils of a patient’s eyes.

These astute observations save critical time, enabling early intervention and communication with the bedside nurses and attending physicians caring for that patient. Human touch is an element that can never be replicated by technology, no matter how advanced, and so this type of collaboration bridges that gap.

Conducting comprehensive patient assessment

By connecting directly with bedside nurses, virtual nurses can help facilitate head-to-toe patient assessments, meticulously evaluating various aspects of the patient’s health. This allows for a more comprehensive understanding of their condition and enables prompt action to prevent potential complications and promote rapid recovery.

Virtual care’s role in enhancing services

Virtual nursing is undoubtedly transformative within the healthcare industry. It empowers nurses to embrace their full potential and achieve excellence by reducing administrative burdens and allowing these clinicians to focus on critical thinking and patient-centric care — ultimately, strengthening patient outcomes as a result.

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Medical Solutions, one of the nation’s largest healthcare talent ecosystems, connects nurses, allied health clinicians, and clinical leaders with healthcare facilities across the U.S. Its service offerings include contingent staffing, managed services, strike staffing, permanent placement, local contract, per diem staffing, international staffing, and more. Want to learn more about our healthcare talent ecosystem? Contact us today for more information.