There are many types of triage systems. Triage is the way medical staff determine the seriousness of a patient's illness or injury. All emergency rooms have a triage system. Triage is also used during a natural disaster in which people have been injured. The systems are meant to insure that patients with the most critical injuries are seen first. In a disaster, triage also insures that the patients with no chance of survival do not use the limited resources that could save another patient's life.
Simple Triage
Simple triage is typically used at a mass casualty incident. This type of triage quickly sorts patients into two categories: the ones who need critical attention and immediate transport to a hospital and those with less serious injuries. Often this sorting will begin before transportation of critical patients is even available. The size of the mass casualty incident may necessitate the use of printed triage tags or colored flagging.
S.T.A.R.T. Model
The S.T.A.R.T. (Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment) model is another very simple triage system that can be performed by even the least trained personnel in case of emergencies. The S.T.A.R.T. model has been taught to California emergency response teams for use during earthquakes. When a disaster or mass casualty incident occurs, patients are separated into four groups: 0, the deceased; 1, patients who can be helped with immediate transportation to a hospital; 2, patients whose injuries require transportation that can be delayed; and 4, patients with minor injuries whose condition is not urgent.
Advanced Triage
Advanced triage is used when a mass casualty incident is so large that doctors must determine who will not receive medical care because they are unlikely to survive no matter what a doctor or hospital does. There are ethical implications with advanced triage because treatment is intentionally withheld from extremely critical patients. The reason advanced triage is used is that medical supplies and services are limited, so caring for a patient who is unlikely to survive is viewed as care that is being withheld from a patient who can benefit. In advanced triage patients are continually evaluated to make sure that if a patient becomes unlikely to survive, he is moved into a group that will receive no medical care.
Continuous Integrated Triage
Continuous integrated triage is a method for processing large numbers of casualties during a major disaster, such as an earthquake or bombing. It rapidly mobilizes medical personnel to deal with a large surge of patients into nearby hospitals, treating less injured patients on the spot and quickly transporting the others. Medical personnel are also trained to deal with psychological trauma and distraught family members.
Reverse Triage
Reverse triage is commonly used in situations such as war. This type of triage addresses the needs of the least critical patients first to get the soldiers with the least severe injuries back on the battlefield so that soldiers with more critical injuries can be evaluated and treated. Reverse triage is viable when there are many medical personnel among the injured who can get the least injured back on their feet.
