MUSC Health Lancaster Medical Center sees success with Virtual Nursing program

MUSC Health Lancaster Medical Center has transformed its approach to nursing by piloting a Virtual Nursing program on its medical-surgical unit. In late 2023, the hospital partnered with the MUSC Health Center for Telehealth to launch this program, and since then, its impact has been a game-changer for the hospital. For nurses like Maria Moore, R.N., this new technology is not only saving her time but enhancing patient experience. 

“The most rewarding aspect of this is that the patients are loving it. I haven't encountered too many patients that don't like utilizing the virtual nurse cart,” said Moore. 

The process for Virtual Nursing begins as soon as an admission or a discharge order is entered into the hospital’s electronic health records. Once the order is received, a notification is sent to the Virtual Nursing team, which then prepares to assist the patient. A cart is pushed into the patient’s room, where the virtual nurse, a real person appearing on the screen, introduces him- or herself and explains the process. During admissions, the virtual nurse helps welcome the patient, gathers initial information and begins educating the patient on their upcoming hospital stay. 

During discharge, the virtual nurse reviews the patient's after-visit summary and medication list and provides detailed education. The virtual nurse ensures that the patient understands his or her medications, follow-up care and any home instructions. If hands-on care is required, the in-person team steps in, providing additional assistance as needed.

Although the department has seen great benefits from the Virtual Nursing program, the transition wasn’t without some initial hesitation from Daisy Rollings, executive director of Nursing at MUSC Lancaster, who wanted to ensure that the timing was right.

“My initial hesitation wasn’t about the concept – it was more about capacity,” Rollings said. “We had a lot in motion at that time, and I wanted to ensure that we had the bandwidth to implement Virtual Nursing with the right support, training and attention it required to be successful.”

According to Rollings, as the program evolved, both staff and patients began to see the benefits. The time saved on admissions and discharges has allowed the nursing staff to dedicate more time to direct patient care, and patients have grown more comfortable with the technology.

Today, the service has become an essential part of the workflow at Lancaster Medical Center, and the numbers speak for themselves. Since the program’s inception, 4,115 patients have interacted with a virtual nurse, and an impressive 470,580 minutes (or 7,843 hours) have been saved, which translates to 326.8 days of nursing time saved. 

“It increases our efficiency. Patients are reporting that they are getting more education, and that they're understanding more when it comes to discharge instructions. That process has improved by a long shot,” said Moore. “Nurses have more time now to take care of patients, and it’s allowing me to be able to spread myself in multiple places, especially being the admission, discharge, transfer nurse and being only one in that role.”

What started as a bold move has now become a vital part of daily operations on MUSC Health Lancaster Medical Center’s medical-surgical unit. Moore said the success of the Virtual Nursing program demonstrates that bringing in new technology can ease the workload for nurses while improving patient experience.