Becker’s Healthcare Podcast Virtual Care and Improving Emergency Department Flow at Ochsner Health with Dr. Lisa Fort
Feb 15, 2026
Dr. Lisa Fort, emergency physician and system medical director of Ochsner's Virtual Care Center, leads virtual solutions to ease ED crowding. She discusses a virtual ED that triages escalations, impressive first-year outcomes, shifting culture for adoption, and plans to unify care transitions and use population models to match patients to the right care.
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Virtual ED Kept Patients Out Of The ED
- Ochsner built a virtual emergency department staffed by board-certified ED physicians and navigators available 24/7.
- In its first year they saw 16,000+ patients and kept about 65% out of the physical ED while linking 82% to follow-up care.
Make Workflows Easier To Drive Adoption
- Make new workflows demonstrably easier than existing ones to drive adoption among clinicians.
- Respond quickly through existing channels (e.g., EHR messages) so staff see immediate value and use the service.
Care As A Continuum, Not Silos
- View care as a continuous patient journey rather than discrete silos to reduce fragmentation.
- Centralized virtual resources plus technology can improve handoffs and transitional moments across settings.