Emergency Department Triage
Summary
Triage assigns clinical priority based on limited initial information. Disputes often involve under-triage of a serious condition, and the analysis considers the information available at the triage encounter.
Key points
- Triage sorts patients by acuity using brief, structured assessment.
- Standardized triage scales guide prioritization.
- Under-triage of a subtle presentation is a common issue.
- Triage is performed with very limited information by design.
How triage works
Triage is the process of rapidly sorting arriving patients by clinical priority. Using a brief assessment and a standardized acuity scale, triage staff decide who must be seen immediately and who can safely wait. It is, by design, performed with very limited information.
Litigation involving triage often centers on under-triage, where a patient with a serious underlying condition was assigned a lower acuity and experienced a delay in care.
Evaluating triage decisions
A fair analysis considers what was reasonably apparent at the triage encounter, including the presenting complaint and vital signs, rather than what was learned later. It also considers department conditions, because triage operates within the realities of volume and staffing.
Frequently asked questions
Is a triage delay automatically negligence?
No. Triage is based on limited information by design. The analysis considers whether the acuity assignment was reasonable given what was apparent at the time.