Next in Virtual Nursing: UnityPoint Health's Evolution Toward In-Room Technology

The next challenge for virtual nursing will be growing to scale, says this virtual care leader. 

Health systems have made significant strides in virtual nursing over the past few years as technology opens the door to new possibilities.

Stephanie Johnson, executive director of virtual care for UnityPoint Health, recently gave HealthLeaders an update on the health system's virtual nursing progress over the past year.

Johnson is part of the HealthLeaders Virtual Nursing Mastermind program, which brings together several health systems to discuss the ins and outs of their virtual nursing programs and what their goals are now and for the future.

What's changed?

Last year, according to Sarah Brown, UnityPoint's CNO, the goal of the virtual nursing program was to improve the nurses' experience by offloading burdens and giving them time back at the bedside.

In the past year, Johnson explained that the biggest evolution is the shift from a decentralized, market-based model to a centralized leadership structure, with standardized workflows.

"Standardization of workflows is happening in parallel with the centralization," Johnson said.

The biggest challenge going forward, according to Johnson, is the investment in growing to scale. In terms of equipment, UnityPoint is adding in-room technology this year.

"This is happening on a single unit as proof of concept, with the intent to scale the technology system-wide," Johnson said.

Currently, the health system uses a separate vendor solution for their software platform. However, as offerings evolve, Johnson expects that to shift to the EHR.

"We anticipate more collaboration with Epic as their service offerings continue to develop in the future," Johnson said.

UnityPoint is measuring outcomes using a virtual nursing dashboard to track several quality and process measures.

"Some of the data, such as first-year turnover, is yielding the results we anticipated," Johnson said.

Future of care delivery

In terms of the program's impact on staffing, Johnson said their strategy is still in the infancy stages as they continue to focus on building strong foundations.

"The future will focus on a growth strategy where we can continue to support the bedside and in-house nursing staff," Johnson said, "by assessing new opportunities across a variety of care settings including the ED, L&D, and transfer center."

As for what comes next, Johnson said there might be some opportunities for integration into care programs that extend beyond the hospital.

"[We are] starting to consider opportunities to collaborate with bed placement and care coordination," Johnson said.

Lastly, Johnson is most surprised by UnityPoint's progress in virtual nursing as measured by nurse and patient reactions.

"The patient and nursing adoption and satisfaction has been overwhelmingly positive once given the opportunity," Johnson said.

The HealthLeaders Mastermind series is an exclusive series of calls and events with healthcare executives. This Virtual Nursing Mastermind series features ideas, solutions, and insights on excelling your virtual nursing program. Please join the community at our LinkedIn page.

To inquire about participating in an upcoming Mastermind series or attending a HealthLeaders Exchange event, email us at exchange@healthleadersmedia.com.