Emergency Medicine Cases - April, 2016 - By Ovens H - Edited by Hilton C & Helman A
"Is triage the baby or the bathwater when it comes to ED flow?
Triage as a system of managing patient flow in the emergency department seems to be under attack. For instance, Dr. Shawn Whatley, a colleague of mine in Ontario, recently published the book No More Lethal Waits, which criticizes the current approach to triage and has received a fair bit of media attention. The first step Dr. Whatley proposes to improve ED access is to “revamp triage” and “close the waiting room.” Also, in 2015, Dr. Rick Bukata, a well-known American emergency physician and educator, wrote an article titled: “Has triage become an intrusive waste of time?” Dr. Bukata’s question was rhetorical; his answer was a firm “yes.”
Are these ED physicians right? Is triage obsolete? I will explore the parts I think they have right and where they and others go wrong in this blog..."