Practitioners’ perspectives on implementation of acute virtual wards: A scoping review

TL;DR

This review explores healthcare practitioners' views on virtual wards, which offer acute care at home, and identifies challenges and opportunities for their successful implementation.

Contribution

The study provides a synthesis of practitioner perspectives on virtual wards through a scoping review, highlighting key themes for implementation success.

Findings

Key themes include implementation challenges, quality of care, technology, training, and awareness.

Virtual wards show potential for efficient care but require addressing service design and patient safety.

Workforce training and digital integration are critical for successful adoption.

Abstract

Virtual wards provide a promising alternative to traditional ‘bedded care’ by facilitating early discharges and delivering acute care at home. They focus specifically on patients needing acute care, which would traditionally necessitate an in-hospital stay. Understanding practitioners’ beliefs and attitudes is crucial for successful implementation and operation of Virtual wards. This scoping review explores practitioners’ perspectives on the implementation of virtual wards. A total of 18 studies were included in the final analysis from the 201 studies identified initially through searches in PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL, and Embase databases (2015–2024) following PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Thematic analysis was conducted using Braun and Clarke’s framework to identify key insights. Thematic analysis revealed key themes related to implementation, quality of care, technology, training, and awareness. These themes highlight the challenges influencing the adoption and considerations for the operational success of virtual wards. Virtual wards demonstrate significant potential for delivering acute care efficiently and sustainably. However, challenges related to service design, patient safety, technology integration, and workforce training must be addressed to ensure their successful implementation and long-term efficacy.

Virtual wards offer a transformative approach to delivering acute care by enabling early hospital discharges and providing treatment at home, reducing reliance on traditional hospital beds. This scoping review examines practitioners’ perspectives on the implementation of virtual wards, as their attitudes and beliefs are pivotal to successful adoption. The review analyzed 18 studies from 201 studies identified in PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL, and Embase databases (2015–2024), following PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Thematic analysis using Braun and Clarke’s framework revealed five key themes: implementation challenges, quality of care, technology, training, and awareness. While virtual wards hold immense potential for efficient and sustainable healthcare delivery, significant barriers must be addressed, including service design, patient safety, digital integration, and workforce training. Understanding these practitioner-identified challenges is critical to optimizing the adoption, functionality, and long-term success of virtual wards, ensuring they meet patient needs and maintain high standards of care.

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