J Korean Soc Emerg Med.  2014 Oct;25(5):499-508. 10.0000/jksem.2014.25.5.499.

A Nationwide Survey of Korean Emergency Department Triage Systems and Scales; A First Step Towards Reform of the Emergency Medical Service System

• Park J
• Choi H
• Kang B
• Kim C
• Kang H
• Lim T

• KMID: 2333980
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.0000/jksem.2014.25.5.499

Abstract

PURPOSE
As a first step towards reform of the emergency medical service system, we aimed to assess the current status of our emergency department triage systems and illustrated the current status and problems of the Korean emergency department triage system.
METHODS
We conducted e-mail and telephone surveys of the triage officers of all 136 emergency medical centers in Korea.
RESULTS
All 136 emergency departments responded to the survey. In Korea, a triage scale derived from the 'emergency symptoms based on the requirements of the Emergency Medical Service Act' is the most-used triage scale. We identified factors showing significant association with use of verified triage vs. unverified scales, including level of triage scale, type of hospital, type of emergency department, perception of problems regarding the triage scale, educational performance, and number of annual visits.
CONCLUSION
Results of our survey showed that in Korea various kinds of triage scale are in use and the reliability and validity of more than half of them are unverified. Reform of the Korean national triage system is in progress and our survey findings should be helpful in guiding reorganization of the national triage systems of many countries.

Keyword

Triage; Patient safety; Emergency medical services

MeSH Terms

Electronic Mail
Emergencies
Emergency Medical Services*
Emergency Service, Hospital*
Korea
Patient Safety
Reproducibility of Results
Telephone
Triage*
Weights and Measures*