Virtual nursing has crossed a line. It's no longer an experiment for a few innovative hospitals; it's becoming part of how care is delivered. In a February 2026 survey of 867 nurse leaders across 363 hospitals, about 40% said their organization is already implementing virtual care (AONL).
The results are driving the shift. In a 2025 Black Book Research survey, 73% of leaders expected to expand virtual care by 2026. High-risk units saw an average 20% reduction in patient falls within 12 months of adopting virtual monitoring (Black Book).
Getting from a pilot to a program that runs across the whole hospital is still hard. Here's what's working.
What virtual nursing looks like today
In a virtual nursing model, an experienced nurse supports bedside teams over video. They handle admissions, discharge education, documentation and patient check-ins, so bedside nurses can focus on hands-on care.
Many hospitals start with virtual sitting, where one monitor technician watches several patients at risk of falling. They then move on to broader virtual nursing (Healthcare IT News).
Why virtual nursing programs stall after the pilot
The pilot works because a few motivated people make it work. Scaling exposes four common problems:
- Mismatched hardware. The pilot unit got new carts; other units have older cameras and tablets.
- Video outside the workflow. If nurses must leave the EHR to start a call, adoption drops.
- No written staffing model. Ratios, roles and escalation paths were never agreed.
- No baseline. Without starting numbers for falls and sitter hours, the program can't prove savings.
Start with virtual observation
Virtual observation is often the fastest way to prove value, because savings show up quickly. St. Luke's Hospital monitors 12 to 16 patients per technician. It cut one-to-one sitters by 73% and saved over $1.5M in 2023 (Healthcare IT News). Results like that build the case to expand virtual nursing to other units.
Build on the devices you already have
Most hospitals aren't short of devices. They're short of a way to make those devices work the same way everywhere. A good platform connects existing carts, bedside displays and PTZ cameras, including medical-grade cameras with night vision for 24/7 observation. Standard tablets can also become locked-down video endpoints, so new rooms don't need new carts.
Keep video inside the EHR
Nurses adopt tools that fit the way they already work. When a virtual nursing session starts from the patient chart, with no extra login or app, it becomes part of the shift rather than an extra task. If your hospital runs Epic, make Epic integration a requirement for any platform you consider.
How to measure results
Agree on a baseline before go-live, then report monthly:
- Falls and falls with injury per 1,000 patient days
- One-to-one sitter hours and cost per observed patient hour
- Patients per monitor technician
- Time to connect an interpreter or specialist
- Nurse satisfaction and turnover
How Vidyo supports virtual nursing
Vidyo gives hospitals one video platform for virtual nursing, virtual observation and consults. VidyoPlatform works with existing PTZ cameras, carts and bedside displays. Its adaptive video stays reliable on lower-bandwidth wards. Vidyo integrates with Epic so sessions launch from the chart, and Vidyo Mobile Kiosk turns a standard iPad into a telehealth endpoint in minutes.
One multi-site health system used VidyoPlatform to standardize observation across three facilities without replacing its hardware. It reported a measurable reduction in fall-related incidents.
Making virtual nursing standard practice
Virtual nursing works best when it builds on what a hospital already has: its devices, its EHR and its people. Start with one measurable use case, prove the savings, then expand.
At Enghouse Video, we believe communication should work as naturally as the healthcare teams using it. Our solutions help organizations maximize their healthcare technology investments by supporting secure virtual care, clinical collaboration, enterprise video management, and connected communication across the healthcare environment. As hospitals continue looking for practical ways to modernize, the organizations that achieve the greatest success will not necessarily be those making the largest investments. They will be the ones making the smartest use of the healthcare technology investments they have already made.
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