Healthcare is in critical condition.
With increasing caseloads, rising costs, workforce shortages, and uncertain funding, healthcare is straining under pressure Medical systems are asked to do more with less, and professionals are looking for smarter, scalable, sustainable solutions. Virtual Nursing is opening possibilities that seemed unfathomable even a decade ago.
Nursing care that is both present and remote.
At VirtuAlly, our Virtual Nursing model is a proven strategy for better patient outcomes, a more empowered team, and more resilient healthcare systems.
Virtual Nursing expands the reach of clinical care without expanding physical space or exhausting on-site teams. It’s a model that improves patient outcomes, supports bedside staff, and adds critical flexibility to care delivery while remaining cost-effective.
It is critical care for an industry in crisis.
Despite growing market demand, many healthcare systems hesitate to move forward because they fear the programmatic lift, staffing, and costs.
They shouldn’t.
It has been estimated that 74% of hospital leaders believe that virtual workflows are the future, but only 10% have enabled them into care delivery.
Let’s demystify the process. At VirtuAlly, we guide organizations through what we call the Crawl, Walk, Run model of implementation.
Crawl Stage: Is it a “Good Idea Whose Time has Come”?
The crawl stage is filled with curiosity and hesitation. The Virtual Nursing concepts and the benefits have piqued your interest, but the unknowns loom large.
The how. The when. The whom.
The journey from idea to launch begins with a few common but crucial questions:
Do we have the tech we need?
What model is right for us?
Where will we find the proper support?
These questions are part of what VirtuAlly identifies as the Crawl Stage.
Your purpose will define your why.
Identify the problems you are trying to solve. Are you looking to ease staffing shortages? Is your aim to streamline admissions and discharges or enhance bedside care?
We can help you find your why, and once established, it becomes much easier to define your goals.
Prioritizing tangible KPIs to your “why” is a great place to start. VirtuAlly starts with an on-site needs assessment, using a tool to help organizations answer many of these important questions. We examine your technology, workflows, patient volumes, and clinical goals. Then we define the right parameters to not just meet your goals but to exceed them.
What do we mean by parameters?
One of the first decisions you will face is a big one: should you build the program with existing staff or bring in outside help?
Both have pros and cons.
In-house professionals are familiar with your systems, procedures, and organizational culture. Staffing and scheduling may present a challenge: If nurses remain on-site, the line between virtual and on-site could blur, making it far easier for VRNs to be pulled back to the bedside and lose the separation between virtual workflows and traditional habits.
A Staffing Solution brings a fresh perspective and process discipline. These professionals come online with the protocol faster and there is far less temptation to revert to old habits. However, the perception is they are costly. Bedside staff tend to see the virtual nurse as a net new resource instead of pulling from the depleted pool of existing staff. The reality is that our VRNs serve as an extension of your nursing team, often costing less than contract labor.
What about a little bit of both? The Hybrid Model
A Hybrid approach, at least initially, has a proven track record. The most resilient programs often start with a staffing solution to build structure and culture and then move slowly to an internal team. A hybrid model offers flexibility and scalability while preserving long-term ownership.
The crawl stage is about charting the course. The goal of the crawl stage isn’t speed. It is meant to be a crawl, but with clarity and alignment to set your organization up for success.
Taking the Next Steps: The Walk Stage
Once your model is chosen and your plan is in place, implementation begins. With VirtuAlly all of your progress and process is formatted to your specific requirements.
The Walk Stage is where ideas are tested in the real world. Technology is deployed. Teams are trained. Roles are refined. Collaboration – and walking hand in hand with your bedside team – begins.
Implementation Isn’t Linear
The walking stage requires collaboration to build trust and programmatic stability. You may need to refine roles, evaluating what’s working and what isn’t and getting comfortable with some ambiguity.
The Walk Stage is when you can see if the choices you made during Crawl are happening in stride.
Is on or off-site better for your environment?
Does technology work the way it should?
Are processes and procedures effective?
In this stage, it’s easy to fall back into old habits. When things get hard, systems default to the familiar. If the VRN’s are in-house, are they being pulled to the floor? Without structure, metrics, and a clearly defined role for VRNs, virtual nursing will not function as effectively as it should or scale as quickly as you may desire.
What can you do to keep moving forward and find success with Virtual Nursing?
Measuring What Matters
Start identifying and tracking KPIs
– Average time from admission to discharge
– Patient satisfaction
– Staff engagement and retention
– Workflow efficiency
– Cost per interaction
Good data leads to good decisions which foster growth and builds your case for scaling.
Case in Point: Expansion Time
One of VirtuAlly’s clients (let’s call them Westside Medical – a single hospital system) entered phase two of their VRN Pilot, expanding by two to three units per month per region across their service area.
The Virtual Nursing Model deployed was for VRNs to support only the admission, discharge and quality compliance processes, with a goal of giving bedside nurses quality time with patients.
The results? An average of 120 minutes per shift was saved in documentation in the EMR. With a clear roadmap from VirtuAlly, thoughtful implementation, and consistent support, they saw faster discharge times, higher nurse and patient satisfaction, and measurable drops in burnout. (In general, organizations using our services see an average of 47% improvement in nurse retention, too!)
Smart decisions, real data, and forward motion. That’s the Walk.
First, We Crawl. Then, We Walk. Now, We Run: The Run Stage
You’ve hit your stride. Admissions and discharges are running smoothly. Your Virtual Nurses have become integral to the healthcare system. The numbers are there. Management is supportive.
VirtuAlly stands with you providing ongoing support to ensure your VRN continues running at its best.
Many organizations, both big and small, would like to do more, but they remain uncertain how to scale. Even large institutions may have only one virtual nursing pilot program and want to expand while small facilities may feel the next steps aren’t feasible for a hospital of their size.
Big or small, it is possible.
VirtuAlly provides the roadmap for what is working well and how to scale it no matter the size of the facility or system.
As we scale, we may return to walking and even crawling as the technological infrastructure, staffing and protocols are established or expanded but always in alignment with the purposes and goals you established when you first started to crawl.
Let’s begin.
For healthcare systems, establishing virtual nursing isn’t a sprint. It’s a strategic evolution. With VirtuAlly, you can take a crawl-walk-run approach that meets your organization where it is, aligns with your staffing goals, and delivers measurable impact along the way. Whether you’re just exploring or ready to scale, we’re here to guide you with proven frameworks, experienced partners, and technology that puts providers, nurses and patients first. VirtuAlly invites your organization to partner for progress, allowing us to support you through every stage of the Virtual Nursing Journey.
No matter where you fall, we have a simple, seamless, three-step deployment process to get your virtual caring™ team up and running.