2. Goals of Triage
Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale Implementation Guidelines
- To rapidly identify patients with urgent, life threatening conditions.
- To determine the most appropriate treatment area for patients presenting to the ED.
- To decrease congestion in emergency treatment areas.
- To provide ongoing assessment of patients.
- To provide information to patients and families regarding services, expected care and waiting times.
- To contribute information that helps to define departmental acuity.
Rapid access to assessment by a health care provider increases patient satisfaction and enhances public relations. An efficient triage system should reduce client anxiety and increase satisfaction by reducing length of stay and waiting times in the emergency department. Factors, which influence triage design and operation, include:
- number of patient visits
- number of patients requiring rapid intervention
- availability of health care providers in the ED treatment area
- availability of specialty services
- environmental, legal and administrative issues
- availability of community care resources
- computer system used for ADT (admit/discharge/transfer) and patient care.
Every emergency department needs a clear understanding of the population being served, all the system capabilities and specific policies and procedures describing their triage system. Many time objectives may not be met unless some type of triage assessment (rapid triage) is done before registration. This is a system design / operational policy issue that must be considered.
