Conduit Health Partners Surpasses 1 Million Triage Encounters

Conduit Health Partners, a URAC-certified nurse‑first healthcare solutions partner, has reached a milestone: 1 million nurse-first triage encounters since the company's founding in 2017. More than a number, it reflects nearly a decade of supporting health systems and provider groups nationwide, offering insight into when patients reach out, what they are worried about and how early clinical guidance shapes what happens next. 

The picture that emerges challenges a common assumption. Triage is not primarily about identifying emergencies. In the vast majority of encounters, patients are not in crisis. They are uncertain, often calling at night or on a weekend when their regular provider is unavailable and looking for trustworthy guidance from someone with clinical expertise.

In many cases, that early guidance prevents unnecessary escalation. Conduit’s previously published analysis, “The Connected System: Insights on Patient Access and Throughput,” shows nearly 74% of triage cases were resolved without an emergency department visit. Nearly one in three avoided ER visits occur during nights or weekends, when clinics are typically closed. 

Nurse‑first teletriage requires clinicians to rely on active listening, critical thinking and clinical judgment, a process described by Conduit nurses as “using all five senses without seeing the patient.” For Karen Batt, a triage nurse with Conduit Health Partners, that responsibility was especially clear during a call involving a young child. 

“I spoke with the mom of a 2-year-old child who went to the doctor for a lingering headache. The assessment was benign, but the child’s symptoms persisted and some of them were unusual. Paired with the concern that I could hear in the mother’s voice, I recommended that she take her child to the emergency department. She called me later to thank me for the guidance and shared that her son was later diagnosed with a serious neurological condition and taken into surgery.” 

While Batt’s clinical assessment followed standard triage protocols, the outcome, which required escalation, was less typical. Conduit’s analysis shows many fall into the “information only” category, such as medication questions, respiratory symptoms, chronic disease follow‑up and low‑acuity infections. 

Another pattern has also emerged over time: a recurring segment of callers who are not seeking clinical escalation at all. Nurses report receiving repeated calls within short periods from individuals experiencing loneliness, anxiety, or behavioral health-related distress. These callers are not always seeking escalation, but connection. Triage nurses also routinely support patients following emergency department discharge, helping them interpret instructions, understand follow-up care and reconnect with appropriate outpatient services after an acute event. 

“What 1 million encounters have shown us is how often patients are looking for guidance more than anything else,” said Cheryl Dalton-Norman, president, Conduit Health Partners. “Sometimes that guidance is clinical. Sometimes it helps someone understand next steps after a hospital visit, or simply being a calm, trusted voice during a moment of uncertainty. Nurse-led triage helps bridge the gap between confusion and clinically guided care so patients can better navigate a system that often feels complex.” 

Drawing on years of nurse-first triage and transfer center experience, Conduit Health Partners continues to see how early clinical guidance is associated with operational and patient-experience impacts. As workforce pressures persist and emergency departments remain under strain, these insights reinforce the role of nurse-led triage as an access point, guiding patients to the right care, supporting nurses at the frontline of access and helping health systems respond more effectively to demand.

For more information visit www.ConduitHP.com.