Virtual Discharge: Enhancing and Optimizing Care Efficiency for the Bedside Nurse

Opportunities for care improvement exist within virtual care, which continues to emerge as an increasingly viable heath care option.

Competing care priorities presented a challenge to nurse leaders, resulting in a modern solution to optimize resources using virtual care.

A new model of care delivery, the virtual discharge (VDC) protocol, was established as a partnership between bedside nurses and a virtual nurse team.

Using existing telehealth technology, virtual nurses delivered remote discharge education to patients on a 30-bed orthopedic unit.

During the pilot, 269 VDC sessions totaled more than 101 hours of discharge education. Patient satisfaction communication scores improved significantly, and patients maintained a low 7-day readmission rate.

This care model using emerging technology to deliver effective discharge education was highly satisfactory for patients and bedside nurses. Nurse leaders should seek opportunities to maximize the benefits of virtual technology in health care.