Triage Decision-Making Levels of Healthcare Professionals Working in Emergency Departments

Today, the increase in patient load has become a major problem in emergency departments (EDs) (1). Due to population increase, internal migrations, and ED applications of patients who do not have urgent complaints, a high number of patients are observed in EDs (2). This increase in patient density leads to longer waiting times for patients in the ED, delays in the treatment of patients having more serious health conditions, decrease in patient satisfaction, decrease in the quality of service, safety problems, and decrease in the productivity of healthcare professionals (3, 4). Therefore, it is necessary to select patients who need medical care more urgently in ED applications and determine patients’ medical priorities (triage) (5). Triage is the rapid selection and coding process performed at the scene and at every healthcare organization where patients or injured people are taken to determine those who require priority treatment and referrals in case of a high number of patients and injured people (6, 7). Triage can also be defined as determining priorities in care in terms of available resources and the severity of illness or injury (7). It is based on a quick diagnosis along with a brief interview, and it can be repeated at every stage until the end of treatment (8). Triage is a French word and is derived from the verb “trier,” which means to choose, select, classify, sift, separate, and distinguish. Medical triage was first applied in the Napoleonic period in France in the early 1800s for determining the priority of emergency care for patients/ injured people and providing emergency care