TITLE:
Analysis of Triage Application in Emergency Department
AUTHORS:
Ali Kemal Erenler, İnanç Özel, Yasemin Ece, Mine Karabulut, Aysun Oruçoğlu, Eşref Çiftçi
KEYWORDS:
Triage, Overcrowding, Green Zone, Emergency Department
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Emergency Medicine,
Vol.3 No.3,
August
21,
2015
ABSTRACT: Objectives: In this study, we aimed to determine the current status of Green Zone (GZ) application in our Emergency Department (ED). We also sought workload and economic burden of GZ on both healthcare providers and health system. Methods: We analyzed the medical data of patients admitted to the GZ of our ED in a three-year period. Demographical characteristics, complaints on admission, number of revisits and economical cost of the patients were determined. Results: During 3-year period a total of ~900,000 patients were admitted to Hitit University Corum Education and Research Hospital ED. Of these patients, 87,089 patients were treated in GZ. Upper respiratory system disease was the leading complaint on admission. Mean length of stay in ED for these patients was found to be 22.2 minutes. When repeated visits were investigated, it was found that 3029 patients presented twice to the GZ. Conclusion: Certain measures to reduce number of non-emergent patients presenting to ED must be taken immediately. Or else, dissatisfaction of both healthcare providers and patients shall remain as a potential cause of unwanted events in over-crowded EDs in the future.