After Hours
The Leading Resource for Telehealth Triage Nurses
A trusted decision support tool for nurses, backed by evidence-based clinical expertise.
Supporting Nurses, Ensuring Safe After Hours Patient Care
Telephone triage nurses are often the only clinical point of contact for patients when the office is closed. Even the most experienced nurses encounter challenging calls. In these moments, nursing judgment and reliable protocols are essential to patient safety and timely care.
After Hours Protocols provide a standardized, evidence-based framework that supports consistent triage, accurate dispositions, and clear communication with families, no matter the time of day.
Why After Hours
Protocols Matter
After Hours Triage Protocols are evidence-based decision-support tools designed to guide telehealth nurses managing calls outside regular clinic hours—typically 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. weekdays and all day on weekends and holidays.
Their primary aim is to ensure consistent, safe triage, directing patients to the appropriate level of care, while maximizing next-day office visits and minimizing unnecessary emergency department (ED) visits.
Experienced telehealth nurses can also apply After Hours Protocols during daytime operations to maintain a consistent triage approach across 24/7 coverage.
After Hours Protocols: Content at a Glance
- 380 topics cover almost all symptoms and reasons for calls.
- Evidence-based, tested, and safe.
- Clinical content updated annually.
- New protocols developed rapidly to address any disease outbreaks.
- Standardized format and approach to triage and care advice.
- Triage checklist is logical and easy to understand.
- Care advice is written in plain language to support parent education.
- Annual After Hours User’s Guide helps nurse managers improve call center process and performance.
Core Benefits of After Hours Protocols
For Telehealth Nurses
- Combine nursing experience and clinical judgment with a decision support system to consistently get the right patient to the right resource at the right time.
- Confidently handle unfamiliar or complex calls with evidence-based guidance and decision support.
- Support quality assurance programs with a standardized reference for call reviews and feedback.
- Send care advice handouts to patients to improve compliance. Support the nurse’s key role as a health educator.
- Comply with AAACN telehealth recommendation to use a decision support system.
For Doctors and Other Providers
- Standardize nurse triage using evidence-based, expert-reviewed protocols to ensure every call is managed consistently and safely.
- Provide a consensus tool for doctors across a healthcare system regarding how telehealth care will be delivered.
- Protect on-call physicians from random night-time calls and support better work–life balance.
- Use protocols that quickly identify serious symptoms that need emergent care. Prevent delayed ED referrals, adverse outcomes, and potential liability.
- Advance organizational goals for safety, quality, patient satisfaction, and cost control (Triple Aim).
Evidence Behind the
After Hours Protocols
The After Hours Protocols are built on decades of clinical experience, evidence-based research, and continuous quality improvement.
Editorial Team Oversight
Content is developed and maintained by a team of pediatric physicians and nurses with extensive telehealth triage experience.
Integration of National Guidelines
Protocols are regularly updated to reflect new guidelines and recommendations from national organizations such as the AAP, AAFP, ACEP, ACOG, CDC, and FDA.
Rigorous Clinical Review
Each new protocol undergoes review by both medical and nursing editors, and additional final reviews by subject matter experts to ensure accuracy and clarity.
Real-World User Feedback
Annual feedback from over 40 call centers are used to refine protocols and address practical issues identified in daily use.
Ongoing Quality Improvement
Established quality improvement committees regularly review high-risk calls and patient outcomes, helping us fine tune protocol triage.
Published Research
The safety and effectiveness of these protocols are supported by 12 peer-reviewed, published studies, which demonstrate appropriate ED referral rates, high caller satisfaction, and significant cost savings.
AAP Expert Input
When published evidence is limited or unavailable, relevant AAP Committees and Sections have provided expert guidance to shape care advice recommendations.
Healthcare Impact of Our Nurse Triage Protocols
Our After Hours and Office Hours Protocols have been the key decision support tool for nurse triage across North America for more than 30 years.
- 25+ million telehealth calls annually
- Used by 400+ call centers
- Adopted by 40+ children’s hospitals, 80+ medical center call centers, and 8 Canadian provinces
- Reviewed, tested, validated, and adopted by leading healthcare organizations across the U.S. and Canada.
- A trusted standard of care for nurse telephone triage and advice.
Indexes for AH Protocols
Samples of AH Protocols
Adult After Hours Protocols for Full Age Range Call Centers
While we provide the leading pediatric nurse triage protocols, many of the organizations using our Triage Protocols take calls for adult as well as pediatric patients. That’s why we work closely with our partner organization Thompson Adult Guidelines, led by Dr. David Thompson. They provide gold standard nurse triage protocols for the symptoms and health problems experienced by adults of all ages. Research and feedback is shared between our editorial teams. All of our triage protocols are licensed through our combined marketing partner Schmitt-Thompson Clinical Content (STCC).
Options for Using the After Hours Triage Protocols
Triage
Software
Our protocols are a core component in leading nurse triage software systems, allowing you to take triage calls with your own telephone triage nurses.
Triage
Call Services
Our protocols are the decision support tool powering leading nurse triage call services, allowing you to outsource your patient’s triage calls to another company’s nurses.
Build Your Own
Software
License our protocols in database format to build your own decision support software. License from our exclusive partner Schmitt-Thompson Clinical Content (STCC).