Association of Virtual Nursing and Task Completeness: An Observational Study.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Health Informatics

Background:

• High nurse turnover negatively impacts patient care quality and outcomes.
• Virtual nursing (VN) is an emerging model to mitigate nurse turnover.
• Evidence on VN's effect on Electronic Health Record (EHR) documentation and care services is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between virtual nursing (VN) and the completeness of EHR documentation.
• To assess the impact of VN on the delivery of care services.
• To explore nurses' perceptions of efficiency and collaboration with VN.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods approach combining observational and qualitative data.
• Cross-sectional study at a major US hospital.
• Data collection via direct observation and semi-structured interviews with VN and bedside nurses.

Main Results:

• VN use was associated with increased documentation completeness for admissions (80.2%) and discharges (80.2%).
• Admission and discharge encounters were longer with VN, suggesting thoroughness.
• Interviews highlighted perceived time-saving benefits, improved efficiency, communication, and collaboration with VN.

Conclusions:

• Virtual nursing (VN) is linked to enhanced documentation completeness and accuracy.
• VN shows potential as a strategy to improve nursing care delivery and efficiency.
• Findings support VN as a valuable tool in addressing nursing shortages and turnover.