Geisinger is leveraging virtual nursing technology to improve quality of care.
On this week’s episode of HL Shorts, we hear from Rebecca Stametz, vice president for digital innovation at Geisinger, about the virtual nursing models at Geisinger. Tune in to hear her insights.
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.
Mount Sinai is using several pieces of technology to improve care coordination.
As more virtual nursing programs pop up throughout healthcare, more technology is integrated into health system workflows, and it's important that nurse leaders understand the capabilities and potential applications.
Clair Lunt, senior director of nursing informatics at the Mount Sinai Health System, outlined how the New York-based health system uses technology in its virtual nursing program, and how they plan to expand the program in the future.
Ms. Lunt is a part of the HealthLeaders Virtual Nursing Mastermind program, in which several health systems are discussing the ins and outs of their virtual nursing programs and what their goals are for implementing this new strategy.
Technology
According to Ms. Lunt, Mount Sinai uses virtual nursing for admission and discharge documentation and patient education. They are using several pieces of technology including TVs and cameras.
"There is what's called a bridge, which is the platform where the virtual nurses can actually log into [their] systems and see [their] patients," Lunt said.
The cameras are placed above the TV in the patient’s room and paired with a high-resolution zoom camera next to the TV.
"Those cameras are used to home or zoom right in on wounds or medications or blood products that you need a second set of eyes on if needed," Ms. Lunt said.
There are also pillow speakers with microphones that patients can use to call the nurse.
"They can speak through it, and they just talk to the pillow speaker when they're answering," Ms. Lunt said, "and the virtual nurses can hear them."
Future applications
Over time, Ms. Lunt believes the program will go beyond virtual nursing.
"Other platforms will want to be able to use the technology to be able to care for patients at a multiple number of sites," Ms. Lunt said, "rather than have people based at each site."
For instance, someone from the MRI department could use the virtual platform to help patients complete -questionnaires, rather than having a bedside nurse dothem. Pharmacists could also use the platform to go over new medication information with patients.
Ms. Lunt said the platform could also be used for home rehab programs, with virtual nurses working with patients at home to complete physical assessments prior to pre-authorization, freeing up the clinician to work with the patient.
"They can just pop in and just talk to the family and the patient," Ms. Lunt said, "you can actually pull the patient's family members into a call without them actually having to be in the room with the patient."
The idea is that virtual nursing will expand to improve patient care overall, Ms. Lunt explained.
"So that care coordination piece, I think will become favorable for a lot of different disciplines," Ms. Lunt said, "not just virtual nursing."
The HealthLeaders Mastermind seriesis an exclusive series of calls and events with healthcare executives. This Virtual NursingMastermind series features ideas, solutions, and insights onexcelling 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.
This health system has four goals to reach with virtual nursing, says this CNO.
The potential of virtual nursing seems promising as many health systems begin to brainstorm and implement programs of their own.
Sarah Brown, CNO at UnityPoint Health, laid out how the Iowa-based health system has set up their virtual nursing program and what their four goals are for the future.
Brown is a part of the HealthLeaders Virtual Nursing Mastermind panel, where several health systems will discuss the ins and outs of their virtual nursing programs and what their goals are for implementing this new strategy.
Here are the four phases that UnityPoint hopes to achieve with their virtual nursing program.
The HealthLeaders Mastermind seriesis an exclusive series of calls and events with healthcare executives. This Virtual NursingMastermind series features ideas, solutions, and insights onexcelling 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.
Mentorship between new and tenured nurses is mutually beneficial, this nurse leader says.
On this week’s episode of HL Shorts, we hear from Dr. Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, president of the American Nurses Association, about how CNOs can create mentorship opportunities to help retain nurses. Tune in to hear her insights.
UnityPoint's CNO discusses the future of the health system's virtual nursing program.
The potential of virtual nursing seems promising as many health systems begin to brainstorm and implement programs of their own.
Sarah Brown, CNO at UnityPoint Health, laid out how the Iowa-based health system has set up their virtual nursing program and what their four goals are for the future.
Brown is a part of the HealthLeaders Virtual Nursing Mastermind panel, where several health systems will discuss the ins and outs of their virtual nursing programs and what their goals are for implementing this new strategy.
Starting goals
Many health systems are using virtual nursing to offload work and give time back to nurses to be at the bedside. And at UnityPoint it's no different.
"Our goals with it initially, and I would say they have morphed a bit over time," Brown said, "[were] really to redesign the work so that we could remove some work from our nurses that were at the bedside to try to make their experience while they were at work better."
Brown said UnityPoint wanted to set up the program in a way that did not sacrifice quality or patient experience. The main focus was on improving the bedside nurse experience, and that remains a priority, along with efficiency and quality goals.
"I think the efficiency piece comes when we’re getting high, 90%, maybe even 100% of our admissions on our med surg inpatient united completed within the first four hours," Brown said. "That's not something we could have said before."
Brown attributed that success to how they resourced differently. There is now more focus and consistency with the people doing the admission and discharge processes, and so they are able to do more of them. Brown said they are heading toward a retention goal with the program as well.
"With that experience, they catch more things," Brown said. "I think where we want to go is then more focused on our new-to-practice nurses that really need more of a mentor [or] coach sort of role."
What's next
Brown sees UnityPoint going through four evolutionary phases with the virtual nursing program.
Phase one includes the admission and discharge processes and other documentation needs, along with some care planning and patient education.
Phase two will focus on operations and implementing in-room technology. This would enable the virtual nurse to help check medications, blood draws and other processes with the bedside nurse in the room. They could also help assist with documentation during a rapid response situation, and help with virtual rounding.
"I think we are a bit hampered with moving forward in the other phases without the in-room technology," Brown said, "so that piece will be really important to us."
The third phase is expanding the program to allow for monitoring on a broader scale. Virtual nurses could then act as eyes in the sky, to look for deterioration, sepsis, or other patient conditions.
At that point, the health system could move to the fourth phase and use virtual nursing for mentorship of new-to- practice nurses.
Brown said that three years into the program they have really matured the first phase, but they still have a long way to go to get to the long-term goals.
Additionally, Brown is hopeful that UnityPoint can implement virtual care in the EICU.
"Like many organizations, we are at max capacity in many of our hospitals on a daily basis," Brown said. "I have this idea that there has to be a way we can incorporate virtual waiting room monitoring or virtual nursing in our emergency departments as well."
The HealthLeaders Mastermind seriesis an exclusive series of calls and events with healthcare executives. This Virtual NursingMastermind series features ideas, solutions, and insights onexcelling 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.
Here's why your workforce growth strategies aren't working, according to this nurse leader.
The greatest challenge facing nursing leaders today is workforce development. Health systems are in dire need of solutions that improve both recruitment and retention.
These challenges come at a time when workplace violence is as prevalent as ever, and burnout plays a huge role in nurse leader turnover. Virtual nursing and other new technologies like AI have also had an impact on the workforce and need to be considered when strategizing.
HealthLeaders spoke with Dr. Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, president of the American Nurses Association, to find out what workforce growth strategies need to be put to rest and explore four ways CNOs can move forward and build a strong, healthy, and happy workforce. Tune in to hear her insights.
CNOs must take a look at how they introduce new nurses into the workforce, says this nurse leader.
On this week’s episode of HL Shorts, we hear from April Prunty, director of nursing professional development at Allina Health, about how CNOs can prepare new nurses for the difficulties they will face on the job. Tune in to hear her insights.
Nurses should give their input on new technologies that are meant to help them.
On this week’s episode of HL Shorts, we hear from Lisa Stephenson, chief nursing informatics officer at Houston Methodists, about how CNOs and CNIOs can implement new technology so it doesn't become a burden on staff. Tune in to hear her insights.
Nurse wellbeing makes the rest of the healthcare team succeed, says this nurse leader.
Nurse wellbeing is essential to the success of a health system, and it is the CNO's job to make sure they are providing programs and support to help keep their staff safe and well.
April Prunty, director of nursing professional development at Allina Health, spoke to HealthLeaders about how CNOs can be visible and provide support, and redesign workflows to give nurses time to prioritize their mental health. Tune in to hear her insights.
CNOs should implement new technologies with careful consideration.
New technologies are popping up constantly in the healthcare industry, and many health systems are eager to jump in and start using them.
From virtual nursing to smart rooms to AI, there are plenty of new opportunities to enhance patient care and outcomes. In nursing, this technology also has the potential to improve workload, turnover, and retention.
Lisa Stephenson, chief nursing informatics officer at Houston Methodist, spoke with HealthLeaders about new technologies in nursing, and how CNOs and CNIOs can implement smart technology and AI to solve some of the biggest challenges in nursing.
Implementation and messaging
The most important factor to consider when introducing a new technology into workflows is whether it will become a burden to those using it. For CNOs, this means the technology should not hold back nurses from being able to do their jobs efficiently and effectively.
According to Stephenson, it's critical to include nurses and get their input on new technologies before bringing them in. Will the actually solve a problem or help improve a workflow? Communication about these topics is important.
"Really [understand] how it can help the clinician, make sure it is something that will be beneficial," Stephenson said. "You can't communicate enough on technology."
Additionally, everybody involved should be fully informed as early as possible to address hesitancies and avoid confusion. Staff, providers, and patients should all be made aware of things like cameras for virtual nursing, and other technologies that will impact them.
"Having communication available for all levels and even talking points for nurses to talk to patients about it," Stephenson said, "I think will really help with the adoption and acceptance when you get into [the] actual training and implementation mode."
Stephenson emphasized that implementing new technology into healthcare has always been a challenge, and that the first iteration will likely not be perfect.
"Getting that technology out there with some foundational use cases [really] lays the groundwork to be able [to] then build on that, and increase your use cases," Stephenson said, "and optimize processes, and really make [the] technology continue to work for you."
Training
After implementation, nurses need the necessary training to use the new technology. According to Stephenson, the informatics team at Houston Methodist partners closely with the implementation teams to develop training materials and come up with a good support plan.
Stephenson said they follow a super user model, where the nurses who are going to be directly impacted can get in-person classroom training. The majority of nurses will get online training, for efficiency's sake. A support team assists the super users
"If it's something new that they haven't really experienced before," Stephenson said, "it can be challenging until you really get your hands on it."
Houston Methodist also partners with their clinical educators to make sure programs are in place to train new hires. According to Stephenson, they use online training modules and encourage nurses to "touch, see, and do" with the technology.
“We have new technology that they need to be prepared [for], that they may not [have] even seen at other hospitals [up to] this point," Stephenson said.
AI privacy
Privacy is a top concern for CNOs and CNIOs when implementing any new technology, especially AI. Patient safety is always a priority, and that includes keeping data and personal information safe.
Houston Methodist has updated its policies to state that staff are not allowed to use public-facing AI models like ChatGPT with any sort of patient information.
" You can't use patient information to put into that model to get some kind of note or summary," Stephenson said. "They have to use the models and tools that we have baked into our EHR or other [Houston Methodist] system."
That way, any data given to those models passes security standards and is kept private and secure, Stephenson said. CNOs and CNIOs should consider adopting similar policies to ensure privacy .
Data safety
As healthcare technologies change, nurses need to be aware of their own contribution to keeping data safe. For instance, nurses might want to send a quick text to a provider, or someone they work with, on their personal device, Stephenson said.
"We've made it clear [that] they need to be using secure texting platforms, which are things that we have on our Houston Methodist devices through our applications," Stephenson said. "We want to make sure people aren’t using any kind of private devices to do any of that type of communication or photography of anything."
Additionally, patients might have concerns about technologies like virtual nursing cameras, and this is where that communication piece is key. Patients must be informed about when the cameras are on and recording.
"The cameras point up and away from patients when they're off, so it's clear that they're off and can't be recording," Stephenson said. "And when they are active, the nurse does kind of a knock to say 'Hey, are you ready?' "
The important factor is transparency and communication, so that patients, staff, and providers are all aware of what is happening with the technology around them.
"Communication, communication, communication," Stephenson said, "to make sure everybody's aware of what's going on and how to best use the technology as well."
