
Caregility clinical program managers recently met with health system executives to explore lessons learned from Virtual Nursing rollouts in 2024. Healthcare organizations have made tremendous headway in implementing programs to support virtual patient admissions and discharges. They’re now looking to build on that success by adopting additional workflows. Below we delve into one of the most popular topics during the discussion: unique Virtual Nursing use cases that are helping healthcare institutions further support patient care and throughput.
Bedside Nurse Break Support
Ensuring nurses take necessary or required breaks without disrupting patient care is a growing priority. At one Caregility customer site, floor nurses coordinate with a virtual nurse who uses iObserver and iConsult to remotely observe and engage assigned patients during the floor nurse’s break. Virtual nurses respond to routine patient inquiries, triaging with unit clerk staff when something physical is needed at the bedside. By providing seamless continuity of care during breaks, virtual nurses contribute to nurse well-being and patient satisfaction.
Multidisciplinary Tasking
The integration of interdisciplinary workflows into Virtual Nursing is expanding. Virtual nurses are using bedside telehealth to coordinate interpreter services, pastoral services, social work consultations, and medication reconciliation (often in collaboration with pharmacists or pharm techs where permissible). This ensures that patients receive holistic, team-based care.
In addition to starting the discharge process sooner, virtual nurses can remotely partner with care management teams and engage patient families to support transitions of care for high-risk or complex patients. Virtual case managers can then engage the patient post-discharge for 30 days to support follow-up care, reducing the risk of readmission.
Pre-Procedure Checkoffs
Virtual nurses are increasingly supporting pre-procedure assessments and clinical quality checks. One health system recently launched a virtual nurse action list for MRI checklist tasks. Another healthcare organization is leveraging virtual nurses to observe line insertions to enhance compliance with infection control protocols. By shifting these time-consuming actions to virtual nurses, health systems are streamlining workflows and freeing up floor nurses for more critical bedside care.
Virtual Crisis Care
Behavioral health remains a critical need in many communities, and Virtual Nursing is helping bridge the gap. Hospitals are deploying virtual nurses to conduct remote crisis assessments, reducing unnecessary emergency department visits and ensuring faster access to psychiatric support. This approach has been successfully implemented in states like South Dakota, where law enforcement officers in the field connect individuals in crisis with virtual nursing teams before making transport decisions.
Healthcare organizations are also enabling virtual psychiatric care in acute and primary care settings, enabling one provider to facilitate care remotely across multiple locations. “When you look at behavioral health, the majority of the United States is underserved,” noted Caregility Clinical Program Manager Sarah Lake, MS, RN, CCRN. “The ability to meet those patients in the field and in the hospital seamlessly with audio/video solutions adds a layer of safety.”
The Expanding Scope of Virtual Nursing
Establishing Virtual Nursing and virtual care hubs within brick-and-mortar locations enables remote assessment and intervention across a multitude of service lines and locations. It allows provider organizations to leverage clinical resources across the health system, improving capacity and resource allocation. As Caregility Director of Clinical Solutions Donna Gudmestad, MHL, BSN, RN, CCRN put it, “An audio/video system in a room is more than just a piece of equipment for one workflow. Staff from all disciplines can use that. It’s a great way to give time back to the bedside.”
As hospitals continue to refine their Virtual Nursing strategies, it is clear that the model is not just a short-term solution but a cornerstone of modern care delivery. For hospitals considering expanding their virtual nursing initiatives, these innovative use cases offer a glimpse of ways care teams can maximize impact. Whether it’s supporting bedside nurses during breaks, improving behavioral health access, or streamlining procedural workflows, Virtual Nursing is proving to be an indispensable asset in future-proofing care models.
This article is the first installment in a two-part series exploring the evolution of Virtual Nursing. In part two, we’ll explore Virtual Nursing staffing best practices, sharing real-world feedback on staff ratios, scheduling, communication, and more. Sign up for our newsletter below.