As healthcare evolves, virtual care continues to transform inpatient settings, providing innovative solutions to improve patient safety, streamline operations, and empower nursing teams. The 2024 Virtual Care Insight Survey Report by AvaSure highlights how hospital leaders leverage virtual care, with virtual sitting, admissions, and discharges emerging as key initial use cases. These advancements present exciting opportunities for nurse leaders to optimize workflows and enhance outcomes. 

Virtual Care Use Cases: Where Hospitals Are Starting
Here’s a breakdown of the most common inpatient virtual care use cases and their potential impact: 

Virtual Sitting – 39% Adoption1
Remote patient monitoring reduces fall risks and ensures safety for at-risk populations while alleviating staff workload. Nurse leaders can champion this technology to optimize resource allocation and enhance patient care. 

Discharge Processes – 33% Adoption1
Virtual tools for patient discharges improve communication, facilitate timely transitions, and reduce readmissions. Virtual nurses are pivotal in integrating these tools into existing workflows to improve efficiency and patient satisfaction. 

Admission Processes – 32% Adoption1
Streamlining patient intake and admission documentation through virtual care reduces delays and enhances operational efficiency, enabling nurses to focus more on direct patient care. 

High-Acuity Monitoring – 18% Adoption1
Virtual platforms support continuous observation of critical patients, allowing early detection of complications. Nurse leaders can leverage this technology to improve patient outcomes in high-stakes scenarios. 

Patient Education – 18% Adoption1
Virtual patient education tools empower patients to understand their conditions and recovery plans. This approach fosters engagement and allows direct care nurses to prioritize clinical responsibilities effectively. 

Virtual Consults – 18% Adoption1
Virtual consults enhance team collaboration and provide expert nurse support on demand, ensuring seamless care delivery. 

Mentorship – 6% Adoption1
Experienced virtual nurses offer on-demand mentorship to less tenured nurses, providing real-time guidance and fostering confidence within nursing teams. 

Virtual Rounding – 6% Adoption1
Virtual Rounding improves interdisciplinary team collaboration and streamlines physician-nurse-patient interactions. This approach ensures efficient, high-quality care by freeing up direct care nurses for caregiving duties as needed. 

Leadership Insights for Virtual Care Success
Nurse leaders play a critical role in driving virtual care innovation. By focusing on high-impact use cases, you can: 

• Enhance patient experiences 

• Improve safety measures 

• Support and empower nursing teams 

Start small with pilot programs, measure outcomes, and share success stories to build organizational momentum. Collaboration and adaptability will be key to unlocking the full potential of virtual care. 

1 AvaSure 2024 Virtual Care Insight Survey Report (2024). https://avasure.com/resource/2024-virtual-care-insight-survey-report/  

How is your team utilizing virtual care?
Share your experiences and inspire the next wave of nursing innovation. Together, we can shape the future of healthcare!