Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health has rolled out a virtual nursing program that assigns patients a bedside and a virtual nurse.
The new program will provide some patients with a nurse who will work remotely alongside their in-person bedside nurse. The virtual nurse will assist patients with check-ins as well as help with admission and discharge paperwork, patient and family education, care consultation, and EHR documentation.
Patients can communicate with virtual nurses via an audiovisual device in the hospital room that is HIPAA compliant, according to an Aug. 16 press release from Jefferson.
Jefferson has plans to launch a second pilot of the virtual nursing program after a success with its first.
The hospital also plans to expand the program to include tele-observation/virtual safety care and provider-to-provider e-consults.