EMT Triage at Scene May Not Be Safe

Not everyone who uses the prehospital system needs ambulance transportation, but triaging patients is fraught with pitfalls. These authors evaluated whether emergency medical technicians in Portland, Oregon could apply prehospital triage protocols appropriately.

Emergency medicine experts developed a set of triage protocols to stratify patients into 1 of 4 groups: 1) requires ambulance transport to the ED, 2) could be transported to the ED via alternative means, 3) should be referred to a primary care provider within 24 hours, or 4) should be treated at the scene only. EMT training in the use of these protocols consisted of watching a 90-minute videotape and passing a written test. Over 1 year, the EMTs were asked to categorize patients at t…