Keona Health has published new ROI guidance for nursing leaders and healthcare operations teams, providing a framework to evaluate the true cost of manual triage processes. The analysis, based on Keona Health customer data, examines the operational and financial implications of both manual and AI-supported triage workflows, arriving as healthcare organizations face compounding pressure from staffing shortages, rising call volumes, and increasing clinical complexity.
The guidance includes a before-and-after performance comparison, a breakdown of cost centers affected by outdated triage infrastructure, and a Triage ROI Calculator that organizations can use to estimate savings based on their current call volume and staffing model. It is designed for nursing and operations leaders seeking a structured way to quantify triage performance and evaluate the case for investment.
Manual triage processes often conceal costs that surface as avoidable emergency department visits, documentation errors, or staff turnover. According to Keona Health, non-clinical staff handling calls requiring clinical judgment can lead to inconsistent decisions, extended onboarding timelines, and elevated downstream risk. Stephen Dean, COO of Keona Health, stated, “These are not isolated inefficiencies. These failures are caused by structural problems. A manual triage model is not designed to scale efficiently.”
The clinical stakes are significant. A 2024 review in the Journal of Emergency Nursing reported human triage accuracy ranging from 59% to 82%, varying by experience and case complexity. Keona Health’s internal data shows AI-assisted triage achieves an accuracy rate of 93% in directing patients to the appropriate level of care. At high volume, this gap translates into meaningful risk reduction, including fewer avoidable ED referrals and lower liability exposure.
Organizations that have implemented AI-guided triage report measurable improvements within 90 days, including a 20% to 30% reduction in call handling time, documentation time reductions of up to 50%, and nurse onboarding timelines shortened to 2-3 weeks. These outcomes reflect improvements across patient access operations, reducing wait times, increasing throughput, and improving care appropriateness.
“Healthcare call centers are not only experiencing a staffing problem. They’re facing a workflow problem,” Dean said. “When triage decisions depend on paper binders and non-clinical judgment calls, you’re not managing risk. You’re absorbing it.”
The guidance emphasizes that modernizing triage infrastructure reduces systemic clinical risk, improves staff retention by lowering cognitive burden, and creates a foundation for scalable patient access. The full Nursing Triage ROI analysis, including the calculator, is available at KeonaHealth.com. Nursing directors and operations leaders can use the calculator to generate estimates based on their organization’s current call volume and staffing model.
