Virtual Nurse Programs Were Supposed to Help—New Study Says Most Nurses Feel No Relief

With hospitals across the country wrestling with ongoing nurse shortages, many are experimenting with virtual nursing programs as a possible fix. These programs use real nurses through video calls, chats, and other tech tools to handle tasks like patient monitoring, education, and care coordination, all from a remote location.

Virtual nurses sound promising, and Nurse.org has reported on some virtual nursing programs leading to successful outcomes like decreased new nurse turnover. 

But here’s the million-dollar question: Are these programs actually easing the burden on bedside nurses? According to a new study out of Pennsylvania University, the results are mixed at best.

Virtual Nurses: Not A Replacement For In-Person

A big study from Penn Nursing’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR) surveyed 880 in-hospital nurses to get their take on working alongside virtual nurses. 

The results showed that:

• The majority of nurses (57%) said virtual nursing didn’t lighten their workload
• 10% even reported that virtual nurses made things worse for them at the bedside  
• One-third of nurses reported that the virtual nurses were able to lighten their load

Dr. K. Jane Muir, PhD, MSHP, RN, FNP-BC, who led the study, summed up the study's findings as while many have high hopes for virtual nursing programs, the actual results said otherwise:

“Virtual nursing programs have been heralded as an innovative silver bullet to hospitals’ nurse staffing challenges, but our findings show that most bedside nurses are not experiencing major benefits."

She also stressed that virtual nurses can’t safely replace in-person staff, citing that there is "no evidence" that virtual nurses can replace in-person nurses. 

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What About Patient Care? 

Now let’s talk patient care. About 53% of nurses thought virtual nursing had a positive impact on care quality, but only 11% said the improvement was substantial. So, while there’s some indication that virtual nursing might help a little, it’s not exactly revolutionizing care delivery.

One of the big challenges here is the lack of solid evidence to guide decision-making. 

An integrative review on virtual nursing programs found just six studies on the topic, and only one of those had a quasi-experimental design. 

Translation: There’s not much research out there to help nursing leaders figure out if these programs are worth the investment.

Karen B. Lasater, PhD, RN, FAAN, a co-author of the study and Associate Director of CHOPR, put it bluntly: 

“The data is mixed as to whether virtual nursing programs offer relief to in-hospital nurses and enhance the quality of patient care, which suggests hospitals should proceed cautiously in the absence of strong evidence about whether and under which conditions virtual nursing programs are safe and effective."

Virtual Nursing: A Sidekick, Not a Superhero

The researchers did point out that virtual nursing might be useful for specific tasks, like documentation or care coordination. But here’s the catch: For virtual nursing to work, you still need adequate bedside staffing. A virtual nurse is still a nurse. Plus, success hinges on having clear workflows, role definitions, and implementation standards.

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Dr. Lasater offered some food for thought, saying,

“While there is mixed evidence about the value of virtual nursing programs, there is strong evidence that staffing more nurses at the bedside is linked to better outcomes for patients and nurses alike.”

This research couldn’t come at a more crucial time. Hospitals are scrambling for solutions to chronic staffing shortages, and technology often gets touted as the answer. 

As hospitals weigh the pros and cons of virtual nursing programs, this research highlights the importance of seeing them as a complement to traditional nursing, not a replacement. 

The key takeaway here? There’s no substitute for fully staffing your units with qualified, in-person nurses. Virtual programs might help with specific tasks, but they’re not a magic solution to the staffing crisis.

🤔Nurses, what do you think about AI in healthcare? Share your thoughts in the forum below.