Access to care and the movement of patients through the healthcare system are often treated as separate operational challenges. In practice, they’re closely connected. When patients struggle to reach care or guidance early, the strain tends to show up later in the system. Emergency departments become congested, inpatient units feel the pressure, and clinical teams are left trying to manage the downstream effects.
Conduit Health Partners’ Connected System: Insights on Patient Access and Throughput Report looks at how those two functions work together. Based on operational data and a national survey of 64 nurses working in triage and transfer roles, the findings reflect what many health systems are experiencing today – proactive coordination at the front end often has a measurable impact across the entire organization. In this Q&A, Dominique Wells, Chief Operating Officer at Conduit Health Partners, shares her insights from the report and her experience to better align access and throughput.
Why is it important to look at patient access and throughput as a connected system rather than separate operational challenges?
Patient access and throughput are interdependent.
When organizations improve access points, demand may be redirected into the system more efficiently, but if they aren’t considering the broader system, the increased demand can create bottlenecks downstream. In other words, stronger access without coordinated throughput simply shifts the pressure rather than relieving it.
We see this often through our transfer center work. When transfer coordination improves, downstream factors like bed readiness, discharge timing and room turnover start to matter even more. Without alignment across those steps, patients can still experience delays even when access and transfer processes are working well. What’s interesting is how often teams didn’t know what was happening in other parts of the process. Once everyone has visibility into the full picture, they’re able to start identifying where adjustments could make a real difference.
From a patient perspective, access and throughput are part of the same journey. When health systems align these functions and share visibility across teams, they’re much better positioned to improve both patient experience and operational efficiency.
What does the data reveal about when patients are most likely to seek help? What patterns in after-hours nurse triage does the report identify and how well are health systems meeting after-hours demand today?
Across most of our clients, we see some consistent, predictable patterns that allow leaders to anticipate and plan for surges in access needs.
There are seasonal trends, weekend surges, and predictable spikes during the year. For example, 60% of Conduit nurses experienced a significant uptick in patient volume and case complexity during the height of this year’s flu season. During the evening or on weekends, patients still need guidance, and that demand tends to show up quickly in triage call volume—for clients that we support after-hours, we consistently see peak demand around 5 p.m. and on Saturdays.
Weather events can also drive sudden changes in demand. Winter storms are an obvious example, but we see similar patterns during tornado season or other regional weather disruptions. Because those spikes can happen quickly, having nurses distributed across the country via Conduit’s nurse triage offerings helps us continue supporting patients even when certain areas are experiencing disruptions.
Many organizations don’t fully understand their demand patterns until they implement a structured triage program. In one case, leaders realized that if they opened their clinics just half an hour earlier and stayed open a half hour later, they could better serve patients while maintaining after-hours support for people who work traditional schedules.
For health systems that have a triage strategy in place and understand these patterns, demand is generally manageable. For others, patients may still be reaching someone, but often at a higher cost. Providers may be fielding those calls themselves, or patients may default to the emergency department without another option.
What did nurses report about the clinical value of early nurse engagement?
One theme that came through in the survey was the reassurance that early clinical guidance provides. When patients can speak with a nurse who can listen, ask questions, and help them understand what’s happening, many concerns can be addressed without escalating to higher levels of care. This results in fewer unnecessary emergency department or urgent care visits, and gives patients confidence about the decisions they’re making.
Our triage nurses often share stories about patients who call back after using the service stating, “We’ve used this line before, and we trust the guidance we received—so we wanted to call again.”
Historically, women have been more likely to call, often on behalf of children, partners, or elderly family members. They’re typically managing health decisions within the household.
Recently, we’ve seen a slight increase in men using the service. It’s not a dramatic change, but it does suggest that more people are becoming aware of these resources and recognizing the value of reaching out sooner.
In some cases, those conversations led patients to seek care sooner than they otherwise would have, which has prevented more serious outcomes. That’s something nurses take a lot of pride in. The report reinforces this impact: more than 70% of nurses said triage frequently prevents emergency visits, and more than 80% rated it as highly valuable for reducing readmissions through timely follow-up and education. Being able to guide someone early in their care journey can have a meaningful impact on both safety and overall utilization.
What did nurses say about the safety implications of delays in care?
Delays in care are something nurses think about constantly. When patients hesitate to seek help or can’t reach someone quickly, symptoms can progress and conditions can worsen before they receive appropriate guidance. Roughly one in four nurses reported witnessing or suspecting worsened outcomes due to access or coordination delays. Access is a core indicator of safety, reliability, and throughput. Early clinical intervention identifies when a situation needs to escalate and when reassurance is appropriate.
Where does patient transfer fit into this picture, and what distinguishes high-performing transfer operations from those that struggle?
Transfer coordination is foundational to patient throughput. For a hospital system to function efficiently, patients need to be able to enter the system when they require care and move to the appropriate setting as their needs change. Centralized transfer centers help facilitate that process by coordinating between facilities and ensuring patients are directed to the right level of care.
When organizations struggle with transfer operations, it’s often because they’re only focusing on one part of the process. They might focus on inbound transfers without considering outbound movement, or they may rely on bedside nurses, social workers, or physicians to manage coordination on top of their existing responsibilities. High-performing systems tend to centralize those processes.
Once organizations start tracking transfer performance more closely, they start to see where inefficiencies exist and where improvements can have the greatest impact. Conduit’s client data shows that centralized transfer coordination can produce measurable results. In one health system, overall transfer times fell by 34%. Metro hospitals in the network also saw a 54% increase in direct admissions per week, while staff communication demands dropped by 12%.
Results like these help explain the strong financial returns Conduit has seen in broader transfer center work, including a 3:1 return on investment.
What is one shift health system leaders should consider making in how they approach access, quality, and throughput in 2026?
One of the most important decisions leaders can make is to start treating these operational challenges as one. Triage, transfer coordination, patient movement, and access all influence one another. When systems understand how those components interact, they can make more informed decisions about staffing, workflows, and patient flow.
Sharing data across teams can also help align priorities between ambulatory and inpatient settings. For example, understanding how triage guidance reduces unnecessary emergency department visits can help organizations consider how they manage access and capacity.
Ultimately, the goal is straightforward: ensure patients can reach the care they need and move through the system safely and efficiently.
