Houston Methodist Hospital Goes Long-Term with Virtual Nursing

The health system, a participant in the HealthLeaders Virtual Nursing Mastermind program, sees this innovative program as just one part of a sustainable digital health transformation strategy for “connected care.”

At Houston Methodist, virtual care is integrated into care delivery, and virtual nursing is part of the connected care process, rather than a shiny new thing. The trick, health system leaders say, is to combine a short-term return on investment that shows financial benefits with long-term outcomes that demonstrate real value in care.

Stave Klahn, clinical director of Houston Methodist’s virtual medicine system, says the virtual nursing program launched in June 2022 and now includes 35 nurses and 30 FTEs across 1,400 beds in seven hospitals. The program, he says, includes many KPIs, knowing that every small change in the care process can contribute to long-term value.

“We really focus on the duration of each activity we do,” he says. And to obtain results, we must take into account “all the elements that lead to them”.

Houston Methodist is one of dozens of health systems across the country that participated in the HealthLeaders Virtual Nursing Mastermind program, which included three virtual roundtables and a two-day live event last week in Atlanta. The goal of the program is to foster intensive discussions about virtual nursing, delving into what makes a program work, how to overcome sustainability challenges, and what metrics to track to measure success or identify areas of weakness.

Klahn and Sarah Pletcher, MD, MHCDS, senior vice president and executive medical director of strategic innovation at Houston Methodist, explain that the program began with the intention of improving nurse well-being by refining nurse workflows. work and adding goals from that point on. In addition to addressing admission and discharge times, key elements of a patient’s length of stay, they are interested in the coordination and management of care and compliance with documentation.

Analysis and reporting are part of the process, Klahn says, because “you have to demonstrate ROI up front.”

Pletcher says the program needs to be flexible and agile. As health system leadership focuses on reducing costs and saving money, virtual nursing programs are expected to exhibit a blend of real and gentle ROI, appealing to hearts and minds as well as to wallets. And always be willing to try new things.

“You might be recognized for helping with something at the beginning, but a year later people forget or look for new value,” she says.

Houston Methodist’s program is one of the most advanced in the country, with a dedicated virtual nursing staff (Klahn says they’re looking for nurses with at least two years of experience and a wide variety of backgrounds) and a training center. central virtual operations, as well as opportunities for virtual nurses to work from home. They are also in the final stages of installing wall-mounted technology in all of their patient rooms and using wearable devices to track patients’ vital signs.

According to Klahn, it’s important to include nurses at every stage of planning a virtual nursing service and show them the value of virtual nursing so they’ll support it. This means clearly identifying the roles of virtual nurses and ward nurses. The “customers” of any new care model like virtual services notice that they’re included in the design process and are more comfortable suggesting adjustments and new ideas to make processes more efficient.

The HealthLeaders Mastermind Series is an exclusive series of calls and events with healthcare industry leaders. These virtual nursing The Mastermind Series presents ideas, solutions and insights on excel in your virtual nursing program. Join the community on our LinkedIn page.

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