VirtuAlly Expands Virtual Triage Nursing Service Through Collaboration With MUSC Health

Virtual Triage Nursing supports emergency department intake alongside MUSC Health's Virtual Provider in Triage program

CHARLESTON, S.C., Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- VirtuAlly is expanding its Virtual Triage Nursing service through a collaboration with MUSC Health, integrating virtual nurses into the emergency department arrival workflow alongside MUSC Health's Virtual Provider in Triage (VPIT) program.

The model allows nursing intake and emergency medicine provider evaluation to begin before a traditional treatment room is available. Virtual Triage Nursing advances nursing intake and documentation while allowing bedside nurses to focus on care that requires their physical presence. At the same time, VPIT allows an emergency medicine provider to evaluate patients early, initiate testing and treatment, determine the appropriate care pathway and, when appropriate, discharge lower-acuity patients directly from the front end of the emergency department.

Together, the services allow nursing intake and provider evaluation to occur at the same time during the initial stages of an emergency department visit. The approach is intended to support patient flow while allowing clinical teams to begin care before a traditional treatment space becomes available.

"VPIT is about changing when care begins in the emergency department," said Marc Bartman, MD, FACEP. "When provider evaluation and virtual nursing can start shortly after arrival, we can move a patient's care forward before a traditional treatment space is available. That creates a better arrival experience for patients while helping emergency departments use their people and physical resources more effectively."

Extending the triage team

Emergency department triage is one of the highest-pressure, highest-volume touchpoints in a patient's care journey. Traditional triage workflows place significant demands on bedside nurses, often requiring them to simultaneously assess, document, communicate, and manage patient flow during peak volume periods.

Starting this work sooner can help shorten door-to-provider time and create a more consistent intake process. It also shifts appropriate intake and coordination responsibilities to virtual nurses, allowing bedside teams to focus on care that requires their physical presence during high-census periods.

"Timely clinical assessment at the front door is essential to both patient outcomes and operational efficiency," said Angel Bozard, Chief Nursing Officer at VirtuAlly. "Virtual Triage places experienced nurses at the point of entry to help assess patients, document care, and support clinical decision-making alongside bedside teams. This in conjunction with the VPIT model helps move care forward faster while enhancing the experience for both patients and caregivers."

One coordinated approach to ED arrival

The two services work within the same emergency department arrival workflow. Virtual nurses can advance intake and documentation while VPIT providers simultaneously evaluate patients, initiate care and determine the appropriate next step. This allows the nursing and provider components to operate as part of the same arrival process rather than as separate virtual services.

"The front end of the emergency department hasn't changed much in decades," said J. Danny Park, MD, FACEP. "By combining virtual nursing and provider triage into a single arrival experience, we can turn waiting time into care time -- starting the nursing assessment and provider evaluation sooner while giving beside nurses more time for the hands-on care only they can provide."

MUSC Health and VirtuAlly are using the integrated model to incorporate virtual emergency medicine and virtual nursing into the emergency department arrival process. The approach can be adapted to the needs and workflows of individual emergency departments.

Built on a foundation at MUSC

VirtuAlly originated at the Medical University of South Carolina, where its nurse-led virtual care model was developed. The Virtual Triage Nursing deployment extends that model into emergency department triage and represents another area of collaboration between the organizations in a high-volume acute care setting.

Dr. Bartman, Dr. Park, and Bozard will co-present at the 14th Annual Telehealth Summit of South Carolina, hosted by Palmetto Care Connections, on Sept. 2, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. Their session will share implementation lessons from integrating virtual provider and virtual nursing care into the emergency department arrival experience, as well as MUSC Health's continued expansion of virtual care into the NICU.

About VirtuAlly

VirtuAlly is the virtual clinical care team built to extend the capabilities of bedside nurses, strengthen patient safety, and deliver outcomes that health systems can measure.

VirtuAlly is among the first virtual nursing organizations to achieve Joint Commission Accreditation. That standing reflects a standard of clinical rigor built into every service we deliver.

Our 24/7 services include virtual nursing, telesitting, telemetry monitoring, and clinical intelligence, giving frontline teams the experienced clinical backup they need to care for patients and support bedside nurses. We partner with leading technology platforms to bring virtual care into the systems and workflows hospitals already use, so care teams get support without added complexity.

Hospitals and health systems across the country rely on VirtuAlly to meet the real demands of today's care environment. Learn more at virtually.io.

Media Contacts:

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Kristin Merkel
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SOURCE VirtuAlly