Abstract
Abstract
Background
Virtual nursing (VN) is an increasingly popular nursing care model being implemented nationally to help alleviate nursing burden and shortages which are particularly prevalent in emergency care.
Aims
This study aimed to evaluate the impact on documentation-related and workflow outcomes among adult patients admitted through the emergency department (ED) who received either a traditional in-person admission assessment or a VN admission assessment. Outcomes included admission assessment duration, documentation completeness, and number of interruptions.
Methods
This study was a non-randomized retrospective cohort study of adult patients over the age of 18 seen in the ED of 2 Southeastern hospitals and subsequently admitted for inpatient care. Retrospective data were extracted from the EHR and included patients seen in the ED and subsequently admitted from August 2022 through December 2023.
Results
Patients who utilized VN for their admission had an overall longer admission assessment duration (on average 3.16 minutes longer). Virtual nursing admission assessments were associated with a statistically significant increase in the number of completed admission assessment tasks and a significant reduction in the number of admission interruptions compared to in-person encounters.
Conclusions
Virtual nursing for admission assessments was associated with greater documentation completeness and fewer interruptions, with only a modest increase in assessment duration. These findings highlight the potential of VN to help mitigate the challenges associated with nursing shortages and interruptions in emergency care settings.