The Frontline of Patient Access is Changing
When patients pick up the phone to seek care, they want answers, not hold music. But today’s access centers are overwhelmed, nurses are overextended, and call queues stretch longer by the day. Staffing shortages, rising patient volumes, and increasing demand for 24/7 access are pushing health systems to a breaking point.
Enter Clearstep’s AI Voice Triage system: a clinically intelligent, always-on solution that listens, thinks, and responds like a nurse, safely and empathetically, in real time.
Built on peer-reviewed protocols and designed to navigate complex clinical conversations with empathy and accuracy, it brings the power of artificial intelligence in triage directly to the first point of patient contact. Every call becomes a safe, structured clinical encounter that’s completed in minutes, with no staff strain or clinical compromise.
Built on Gold-Standard, Peer-Reviewed Protocols
At the heart of Clearstep’s AI triage system is the same evidence-based rigor that underpins nurse-led triage: peer-reviewed, gold-standard protocols used in millions of encounters each year. These protocols guide the AI’s logic, ensuring that every symptom is contextualized, every risk factor evaluated, and every decision defensible.
When a patient describes chest pain, the system doesn’t just hear the words, it interprets them against clinical criteria, immediately identifying red flags and, if necessary, escalating to a live nurse. When symptoms indicate non-urgent care, the AI routes patients directly to appropriate next steps, booking appointments or sharing self-care guidance.
Every interaction is documented in real time, producing audit-ready notes that can be reviewed, stored, or written directly into the EHR. This means Clearstep isn’t just a digital front-door tool; it’s a clinically integrated extension of the care record, providing speed, safety, and traceability at scale.
From Chief Complaint to Scheduled Care in Minutes
Traditional triage can take 10–15 minutes per call (or longer) depending on the complexity of the case and call volume. With Clearstep’s AI Voice, that journey is compressed into a few minutes of guided conversation, thanks to powerful intake automation and intelligent scheduling capabilities.
The process begins with automated intake: The system captures demographics, identifies the chief complaint, and begins clinical questioning, all without human intervention. As patients speak naturally, the AI interprets their intent, asks contextually relevant follow-up questions, and narrows down the likely acuity level.
From there, the system offers agentic scheduling: if the disposition is appropriate, it can book a same-day or next-available appointment directly, without waiting on hold or requiring a call transfer. It’s the kind of smooth, frictionless access experience patients expect from modern consumer platforms, finally delivered in a healthcare context.
For routine calls, this means resolution in minutes. For high-acuity cases, it means rapid escalation to the right clinical personnel. In both cases, it delivers what patients really need: action, not just information.
AI Triage in the ED, Urgent, and Primary Care Contexts
The versatility of Clearstep’s AI triage healthcare solution makes it uniquely impactful across the continuum of care. Whether deployed in an ED call line, a primary care access center, or a virtual urgent care hub, the system applies consistent logic while adapting to the context.
Emergency Department (ED) Triage
In emergency care, triage errors can cost lives. That’s why Clearstep’s artificial intelligence in emergency department triage is built for safety-first performance. The system is trained to detect red flags — chest pain, neurological deficits, difficulty breathing — and escalate them without delay. Unlike generic voice bots or static IVRs, Clearstep’s AI evaluates real-time clinical risk, dynamically routing calls based on evidence-based triage logic.
Urgent and Primary Care Triage
For lower-acuity cases, Clearstep applies the same intelligent triage logic to direct patients toward the most appropriate setting — often avoiding unnecessary ED visits. Patients receive clear, evidence-based guidance from their very first word, improving care quality, optimizing resource utilization, and reducing cost per encounter.
Measurable Impact
Behind the conversational interface is a mountain of measurable value. At scale, Clearstep’s voice triage platform delivers the kinds of performance gains that both clinical and operational leaders care about.
- Faster Calls: The average AI-led triage call takes just 5 minutes, compared to 13.5 minutes for traditional nurse triage. That’s a 60%+ time reduction per encounter.
- Cost Savings: At a large national health system, Clearstep’s AI triage solution modeled $33.7 million in annual savings, driven by lower staffing costs, increased call containment, and reduced unnecessary escalations.
- Reduced Nurse Burnout: By offloading routine intake and low-acuity triage tasks, nurses can focus on complex, high-value cases. It’s not about replacing nurses; it’s about protecting them from burnout.
- Improved First-Contact Resolution: More than just routing, Clearstep delivers resolution. Patients hang up the phone with an appointment, care plan, or action — not a referral or a “we’ll call you back.”
- 24/7 Access: The system never sleeps. Whether it’s 2:14 p.m. or 2:41 a.m., patients get safe, consistent access without staffing gaps or call queues.
These aren’t theoretical metrics. They’re modeled outcomes backed by real-world health system pilots and presentations, including insights shared at HLTH and CHIME.
Redefining the Frontline with Voice AI
Clearstep’s Voice AI is redefining what artificial intelligence in triage can do. By bringing AI triage solutions directly to the patient’s first point of contact, health systems can dramatically improve access, safety, and operational efficiency – all while easing clinician burden. This is what artificial intelligence in triage was meant to be: clinically intelligent, human-centered, and seamlessly integrated into the care journey. Whether it’s reducing ED overcrowding, supporting stretched contact centers, or expanding access in rural or underserved communities, Clearstep is proving that voice isn’t just a channel; it’s a care strategy.
See it in action.
Request a demo or ROI walkthrough today.
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