Virtual Nursing Program Aims to Enhance Care Operations

Fredericksburg, Virginia-based Mary Washington Healthcare has implemented a virtual nursing program at Stafford Hospital to enable registered nurses (RNs) to work from a virtual operations command center and remotely care for patients.

Amid the growth of virtual care, advantages related to its use continue to become apparent, leading healthcare providers to implement these services. 

A new virtual nursing program established by Mary Washington Healthcare in its Stafford, Virginia-based facility provides a set of tools that aim to assist patients and clinicians. Through synchronous, video-enabled engagement, RNs can care for patients in cases that do not require in-person assistance.

The process of developing the program began earlier this year. In February, Mary Washington Healthcare announced that it would work with Caregility and use the company's Inpatient Virtual Engagement (IVE) solution to provide a foundation for the virtual nursing program.

“Virtual nursing is a way to support our commitment to improving the health of the community we serve by enhancing the patient’s experience and providing additional support to our clinicians,” said Debra Marinari, associate vice president of hospital operations at Mary Washington Healthcare’s Stafford Hospital, in a press release. “Our commitment to innovative patient care allows us to positively impact patient safety, and provide the best possible experience for both our patients and caregivers.”

Through the new program, bedside RNs gain the advantage of completing some care tasks remotely, giving them more time to care for patients requiring hands-on care, the press release notes. The virtual nursing program also gives patients more education opportunities and enables their family members to engage in care plan discussions. Additionally, interpreter services are available through the program.

“Inpatient virtual nursing will allow us to leverage technology to implement flexible care delivery models, simultaneously enhancing quality and experience for patients while providing additional support for our bedside caregivers,” says Christopher Newman, MD, chief operating officer and chief medical officer at Mary Washington Healthcare, in the press release. “It will also allow us to modernize what patient care looks like while improving our ability to manage variability in day-to-day capacity challenges.”

Mary Washington Healthcare also noted that this program is among other technology-based health innovation programs, which include robotics-based support for supply management and plans to expand hybrid care models.

Although this program is initially being implemented at Stafford Hospital, Mary Washington Healthcare intends to deploy it across the system later in the year.

Virtual care and telehealth are becoming increasingly common strategies for improving patient outcomes and provider workflow.

In December, for example, Mount Sinai Emergency Medical Services and its Department of Emergency Medicine began a program that provides telehealth alternatives for non-urgent 911 calls.

According to Mount Sinai, about 10 percent of 911 calls to ambulances affiliated with the organization are associated with low-acuity patients with non-severe injuries. However, a telehealth program, which was part of the federal pilot known as Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport (ET3), will provide telehealth as an alternate option.

After a patient calls 911, emergency medical technicians (EMTs) arrive to assess the patient. If the patient does not require emergency care, EMTs remain there and use tablets to communicate with the health system. From there, the patient can virtually connect with an emergency medicine provider.