TUPELO, Mississippi—A pilot project using virtual nurses at North Mississippi Medical Center is making great strides in patient education and satisfaction.

In early April, NMMC launched a pilot project on 5 Central (orthopedics and neurosurgery) and 5 West (Acute Stroke Unit) in which registered nurses go over each patient’s discharge instructions virtually before leaving the hospital. Each patient room on these units is equipped with a camera system mounted on the television.

“The discharge process can tend to be lengthy,” explains Carol Ann Fortune, RN, nurse manager on 5 West. “Nurses who are providing patient care don’t always have 30 minutes to spend giving detailed instructions to patients before they leave the hospital. Virtual nurses are proving to be a huge benefit.”

The process works like this: Once a doctor submits an order discharging the patient from the hospital, the virtual nurse—who also is located at NMMC—compiles that patient’s discharge instructions and prints them to the nursing unit. A computer alert notifies staff to deliver the papers to the patient’s room and let the patient know the virtual nurse will soon be calling.

Next, the virtual nurse rings into the patient’s room and requests permission to start the session. Once permission is granted, the camera (which stays off throughout the stay) comes on and the patient and virtual nurse can see and hear one another.

“The virtual nurses really make sure the patients understand their follow-up instructions—which doctor they’re seeing for what, the importance of their medications, caring for any incisions, etc.,” says Cera Bates, RN, nurse manager on 5 Central.

Alfredo Morales, M.D., system director of virtual care for North Mississippi Health Services, is extremely proud of the project and the teamwork it showcases. “Virtual nurses can take as much time as needed to answer all of the patient’s questions,” he says. “These are seasoned nurses with years of experience. Doing so also allows floor nurses to focus more on clinical tasks with their patients.” Dr. Morales admits to being extremely passionate about the project because of the difference it is making for patients and their families, nurses and other staff.

Almost immediately, administrators and staff knew this process was a hit. According to Angie Lambert, North Mississippi Health Services chief nursing executive, patient satisfaction scores soared by 42% in the “staff working together” category on those units. “In addition, we saw a 46% increase in patients understanding the purpose of their medications,” she says. “And we saw an 11% improvement in patients feeling that staff told them what they would need upon leaving the hospital.”

Patients on those units spend much less time waiting to be released. “We’ve been able to reduce the time by 3.7 hours on average from the time the doctor puts in the discharge order until the patient leaves the unit, and the room is cleaned and ready for a new patient," says Lambert.

Because of the outstanding results, hospital leaders soon plan to add the technology on other units. They will also utilize virtual nurses for other tasks such as admissions profiles and assisting with hourly rounding and patient education. Virtual sitters have been helping prevent falls by continuous monitoring of susceptible patients since 2022.

 “I believe this is going to be revolutionary for nursing staff, as well as for our patients,” adds Heather Wilf, nurse manager for virtual nursing. “It’s a great way to support the nursing staff on these units because it gives them more time for direct patient care. Patients have really been pleased because we’re spending more time with them—if a patient has questions about their medications or concerns about follow-up appointments, we can address them right then. When patients understand their instructions, they’re less likely to require readmission to the hospital.”

For more information about a nursing career with NMMC, visit www.nmhs.net/careers.