How Virtual Care Can Help Combat Our National Nursing Shortage

Across the country, health care systems all face the same critical problem: there are simply not enough nurses. A recent study by McKinsey & Company suggests between 200,000 and 450,000 nursing positions will go unfilled in the U.S. by 2025. The nursing shortage was evident before the COVID-19 pandemic, but pandemic burnout has only worsened the problem. Nurses at many health care systems are leaving due to professional dissatisfaction and fatigue. According to Becker’s Hospital CFO Report, in 2021, the staff RN turnover rate increased by 8.4%, resulting in a national turnover average of 27.1%. And nationally, the average turnover cost for a single nurse is $46,100, according to the same report.  It’s a trend that shows no signs of stopping. One recent survey suggested that as many as 34% of practicing nurses have plans to leave the medical field by the end of 2022. This anticipated exodus would only further deepen already significant staffing shortages.  In late 2021, the American Nurses Association urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to label the nursing shortage a national crisis. Health administrators tend to agree the situation is dire. In 2022, surveyed hospital CEOs ranked staffing challenges as their number one concern. 

Advantages of virtual care in meeting the nursing shortage

Virtual care offers another option for nurses tempted to leave the medical field entirely – one that allows them to use their skills in a new, innovative health care environment.  Virtual care nurses in charge of remote patient monitoring programs find their work a fulfilling alternative to bedside care. Moreover, they appreciate that virtual work allows them to continue caring for patients without the physical strain and long shift hours that sometimes come with in-person care. As a result, virtual care offers health care systems an ideal way to retain experienced nurses who had been considering retiring or even prematurely leaving the field.

Streamlining patient monitoring 

Nurses who work with virtual care appreciate the systems’ efficiency. RPM devices automatically and effectively capture patients’ critical vital signs (such as temperature, oxygen levels, blood pressure, and more) without requiring hands-on nursing time or oversight. So now, nurses can effectively monitor hundreds of patients simultaneously without the physical demands of visiting each patient in person. Then, in these next-generation operating systems, a clinical intelligence layer provides nurses and patients with real-time insights and specific guidelines to improve patient outcomes.

Combatting burnout

Today’s virtual care operating systems also help reduce nurse burnout by better targeting their interactions. These next-generation platforms use predictive AI technologies to send “intelligent triage” surveys to patients. By collecting more specific patient data, the systems can use these surveys to better gauge the patient’s condition and flag nurse follow-ups only when they are medically necessary. Because RPM-driven care is more efficient, nurses experience less burnout. And they know their time is being used — more efficiently and effectively – in situations that truly need their expertise and skills.

Delivering cost-effective care 

Virtual care allows non-critical patients to return home sooner, easing the burden on overstretched in-person nursing staff and freeing hospital beds and monitoring equipment for other patients. This move enables health care systems to deliver value-based care while alleviating the need for yet more in-house nurses.

Building trust with at-home patient care 

Finally, given the ease of use built into today’s virtual care operating systems, nurses can improve their connection with the patients they monitor. Genuine relationships built through texts, calls, and video chats help nurses deliver quality care without losing the human touch. And, from a patient’s perspective, the convenience of having on-demand access to a nurse or other clinician through their RPM devices – whenever a question or concern arises – helps solidify trust in the value of the virtual care model.  These connections are real – and they improve overall patient satisfaction. For example, since partnering with Myia, Mercy Health Care has seen its patient Net Promotor Scale (NPS) for its connected care program rise to +88. 

We’re Ready to Help You Grow

Ready to see how Myia’s virtual care platform can help your health care system leverage the talents of your existing nursing staff as efficiently as possible? Contact us today.