Listening to the nurse pays off: an integrated Nurse HealthLine programme was associated with significant cost savings.

Aim: To estimate the relationship between adherence to nurse recommendations about where to seek care and expenditures for health-care services received by callers to a Nurse HealthLine telephone-based triage programme.

Methods: Health-care utilization and claims data from callers to the Nurse HealthLine were included. Adherent callers were those who followed the nurse recommendations, while those who did not were classified as non-adherent.