Whis is best: triage or complete screening for patients who present to the ED?
Accreditation Connection, September 12, 2005
Triage helps determine which patients need care immediately, but many organizations perform a complete screening, which can hinder getting a patient into a room quickly, said Linda Vantuyle, RN, a consultant for the Charlotte, NC-based Premier, Inc.
Rather than holding a patient from getting a room, nurses conduct a quick assessment of the patient, determine whether he or she needs more help, and then finish the complete assessment once he or she is moved into
a room, Vantuyle says.
That process fulfills some requirements mandating that a patient have a screening exam before paying.
"What we are seeing is kind of the evolution of triage," Vantuyle said. "One organization did a physician-patient triage. The doctor determines whether the patient needs work, needs to wait, or can be sent home."
The physician can also send the patient to radiology or the lab for more tests, Vantuyle said.
Adapted from the September issue of Briefings on Patient Safety.
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