It’s no secret the healthcare industry has been facing a significant workforce shortage, particularly in the nursing profession. In fact, estimates suggest the United States could face a shortage of up to 450,000 nurses by 2025.
To address this critical issue, McKinsey & Company conducted a comprehensive 2023 study to get an inside look at nurses’ perceptions of time spent throughout the course of a shift — and to identify existing and desired resources that could help them provide higher-quality care, such as telehealth.
Here, we explore the findings that provide insight into which strategies will best optimize nursing workflows using telehealth solutions.
Balance Administrative Tasks
As of March 2023, a shocking 45% of all inpatient nurses in the U.S. reported they are likely to leave their role within the next six months. Among those who reported an intent to leave, the top two reasons cited were:
- Not feeling valued by their organization
- Not having a manageable workload
Nurses self-report that administrative tasks take up more than a quarter of their time, detracting from direct patient care — but ideal tech enablement could reduce up to 20% of net time spent on operational to-dos.
By streamlining documentation processes and leveraging technology solutions supported by the right telehealth platform, nurses can reclaim valuable time and spend more hours-per-day bedside.
Emphasize Team-Based Care
Collaboration among healthcare professionals is vital for optimizing the nursing workload. The study suggests that implementing tech-enabled, team-based care models can foster efficient task distribution and empower nurses to work at the top of their licenses through:
- Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Healthcare professionals can leverage their collective expertise to provide more patient-centered care. This collaboration involves physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other care team members working together to develop comprehensive treatment plans — and telehealth solutions can help address complex patient needs without staff having to physically be in the room.
- Clear Communication Channels: Effective communication is essential for seamless information flow among care teams, allowing for timely sharing of critical patient information, better care coordination and quick resolution of issues. Utilizing technology platforms that enable secure messaging and real-time updates can enhance communication efficiency and improve patient outcomes — ensuring only the right providers get the right alert at the right time, ideally before a fall or injury happens.
- Shared Responsibilities: In a team-based care model, shared responsibilities empower each care team member to contribute their unique skills and knowledge to optimize patient care. By distributing tasks appropriately, healthcare professionals can focus on their specific areas of expertise, reduce workload burdens and enhance overall efficiency. This approach also facilitates better coordination, enabling prompt intervention for preventing emergencies, falls or other patient concerns.
Maximize Virtual Nursing Solutions
Embracing digital innovations via inpatient telehealth can significantly enhance nursing efficiency. The study highlights the potential of remote patient monitoring, telehealth services and predictive analytics in reducing readmission rates and preventing complications.
More specifically, AI-driven technologies enable nurses to deliver care remotely, manage chronic conditions proactively and intervene before emergencies arise. Vitalchat can play a crucial role in addressing your nursing workflow challenges, enabling nurses to reallocate valuable time previously spent on administrative tasks to direct patient care with:
- E-Sitter capabilities that enable patient monitoring for up to 100 rooms at once, rather than the standard dozen.
- Virtual Visits that connect remote providers and loved ones from anywhere, via configurable inpatient screens, for greater patient-family engagement.
- Flexible hardware that replaces cumbersome carts with telemedicine TV kits, so nurses can get from point A to B with a fraction of the physical and mental burden.
Explore Vitalchat’s software solutions to reimagine your nursing workload, improve patient outcomes and enhance overall quality of care in tandem with your hospital system’s ROI.
