Emergency departments (EDs) are the frontlines of healthcare. But today’s EDs are increasingly overwhelmed, especially in rural communities, where clinician shortages and resource constraints challenge delivering timely, high-quality care. Virtual care represents a lifeline, helping health systems stretch resources, improve care access, and boost patient and staff satisfaction.
As the U.S. population ages and patient acuity intensifies, demand on EDs is only increasing. Emergency departments now see over 155 million visits annually, and that number continues to climb due to complex chronic conditions and growing healthcare access disparities.
Virtual Care Use Cases in Emergency Departments
In response, leading health systems are integrating inpatient virtual care into emergency department operations to augment staff capacity and improve patient flow without compromising care quality. Here’s how:
1. Reducing Wait Times and Walkouts with Tele-Triage
With tele-triage, remote clinicians can initiate assessments, order labs, and start treatment plans before patients are seen in person. This early intervention reduces patient wait times and accelerates decision-making.
Patient walkout rates increase sharply as ED wait times drag on. “Tele-triage helps prevent patient walkouts, which cost systems roughly $1,000 per occurrence,” reports EmOpti CEO Ed Barthell, MD. “A 2% walkout rate in a 100,000-visit ED means $2 million in lost revenue annually.” Virtual care mitigates these risks by fast-tracking clinical evaluation.
2. Extending Access and Managing Surges with Shared Virtual Resources
Virtual care allows a single remote clinician to support multiple low-utilization EDs or affiliated facilities, enabling flexible coverage models that scale with demand. That might include centralized remote emergent care resources supporting multiple sister campuses or service extension to underserved community partners.
During patient surges, remote providers can assist in managing overflow, preserving higher-cost onsite ED resources for the most critical needs.
3. Mitigating Risk and Reducing Costs with Patient Boarding Support
Boarding – the period between ED evaluation and inpatient bed assignment – is a growing concern. Studies show that longer ED boarding times are associated with increased inpatient length of stay (LOS) and higher mortality rates. Virtual nurses and observers can help support and monitor boarded patients, freeing up ED nurses to care for incoming cases. Reductions in boarding hours correspond with a roughly 32% drop in walkout rates.
4. Enhancing Specialist Access and Experience with Virtual Rounding and Consults
When appropriate, virtual rounding enables specialists to consult on ED patients without needing to be physically present. For example, tele-stroke consultations connect patients in rural EDs to neurology experts within minutes, dramatically improving outcomes for time-sensitive conditions.
This expedites care planning, improves throughput, and reduces delays that affect patient experience and outcomes. It also helps reduce provider burden and turnover.
Virtual Nursing’s Impact on ED Throughput
Improving discharge workflows in inpatient units helps free up patient beds quicker, so emergency department patients spend less time boarding. Virtual Nursing programs accelerate discharge planning and workflows, directly impacting ED efficiency.
Virtual Nursing workflows like virtual discharge coordination and admission intake cost significantly less than full-time emergency care staffing, allowing health systems to reallocate higher-cost resources to more urgent needs. And the financial upside is clear: hospitals implementing virtual care programs report cost savings, increased throughput, and higher staff satisfaction.
Hospitals using telehealth in ED settings experience reduced transfer rates, improved patient outcomes, and greater provider satisfaction, especially in underserved areas.
The Business Case for Virtual Care in the ED
Virtual care isn’t just a stopgap; it’s a sustainable solution to many of the challenges EDs face today. The benefits include:
- Improved patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes
- Enhanced workflow productivity and faster throughput
- Greater provider satisfaction and reduced burnout
Each of these contributes to cost reduction, lower turnover, and stronger margins, making virtual care a smart investment in both quality and operational excellence.
As hospital EDs navigate a shifting care landscape, virtual care offers a powerful way to meet rising demand, support stretched teams, and deliver better outcomes when and where it matters most.
Set up a call to explore ways tele-triage can benefit your healthcare organization.
