ReviewJournal of clinical nursing2026
Beyond the Bedside: The Pivotal Role of Nursing Clinical Leadership in Developing Virtual Ward Care Through Telemedicine-A Review of the Evidence.
Review in Journal of clinical nursing, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimTo synthesise international evidence on virtual wards (VWs) models and examine the pivotal role of clinical nursing leadership in the development, governance, and delivery of digitally enabled acute care.
backgroundVirtual wards deliver hospital-level care in patients' homes through telemedicine including remote monitoring, supporting admission avoidance and early supported discharge. While existing literature largely focuses on clinical outcomes and medical oversight, the contribution of nursing leadership to VW development and sustainability remains underexplored. DESIGN AND
methodsAn integrative review was conducted, synthesising evidence from empirical studies, service evaluations, and policy literature. Searches were undertaken between February and April 2025 across CINAHL, PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library, alongside targeted grey literature searches. The review focused on acute, hospital-integrated VW models implemented in Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, enabling comparison of nursing leadership roles across three publicly funded healthcare systems.
resultsTwenty-four sources met inclusion criteria, with six studies selected for in-depth case analysis. Across all models, nurses, particularly those in senior and advanced practice roles, were central to VW implementation. Nursing leadership underpinned key enablers of successful VW delivery, including staff training, clinical governance frameworks, standardised protocols, interoperable electronic health records, and patient empowerment through technology. Nurses led remote assessment and monitoring, coordinated multidisciplinary teams, operationalised escalation pathways, and ensured continuity of care across acute and community settings.
conclusionThis review demonstrates that clinical nursing leadership is foundational to the effectiveness, safety, and scalability of VWs. While medical leadership provides essential diagnostic oversight, nursing leadership delivers sustained operational coordination, patient-centred design, and system integration. Empowering nurses to lead VW development is therefore critical to advancing integrated, high-quality acute care beyond the hospital setting. STATEMENT: No patient or public contribution.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.