ED Pilots Innovative Program Designed to Enhance Both Patient and Staff Satisfaction

In early March, our Emergency Department began piloting a new program called “Virtual Discharge Nursing.”

According to Vice President of Patient Care Services/Chief Nursing Officer Hazel Robertshaw, this represents Thompson’s - and UR Medicine’s - first foray into virtual nursing. “We feel confident this new process will speed up the patient discharge process, as well as allow our staff to focus on the most critically-ill patients,” she said.

Director of Emergency Nursing Justin Neidig referred to the initiative as “transformative.”

“As technology continues to evolve and given the challenges we face with nurse workloads and staffing, we have to be inventive in the ways we connect with and care for patients,” he said. “Virtual nursing not only revolutionizes patient care but also brings about significant benefits for nurses, empowering them with new tools and opportunities.”

Our virtual discharge nurses are Thompson E.D. nurses who will be specifically assigned to help facilitate patient discharges during some shifts.

Senior Nursing Informatics Specialist Tasha Heme of Strong Memorial Hospital noted virtual nursing is not a replacement for traditional nursing. “It is here to complement our existing practices by expanding our toolkit to better meet the needs of our patients, improve operational efficiency, and reduce burden on staff,” she said.

Hazel explained Thompson’s program is focused on the E.D. patients who are the most stable and who sometimes must wait extended periods of time to be discharged because nurses are focusing on the sickest patients.

Here’s how it works:  

• Once a patient has been stabilized and the physician has signed off on their discharge, a patient care technician brings their discharge instructions to their room. The tech helps the patient connect virtually to the discharge nurse via the MedSitter technology that has been in use on our hospital inpatient floors since early 2022. The tech also provides a handout explaining the process.
• Next, the virtual nurse reviews discharge instructions with the patient, provides them with any education related to their visit, and answers any questions they may have.
• Once these steps are complete, the patient is free to leave the E.D.

Justin said by ensuring patients receive necessary information, follow-up instructions, and support for adherence to treatment plans, the possibility of the patient returning to the emergency room is reduced.

Hazel, meanwhile, said there is an additional reason to be excited about the pilot project: There is a great deal of literature about the value of virtual nurses in RN retention.

“Very few places have done virtual nursing in the emergency department,” she added, noting the pilot project will be evaluated to ensure objectives are being met.