Triage in Medicine, Part I

Concept, History, and Types

Iserson, Kenneth V. MD, MBA
Moskop, John C. PhD

University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (Iserson); and the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University and the University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina, Greenville, NC (Moskop).

Address for reprints: Kenneth V. Iserson, MD, University of Arizona, 1501 N. Campbell Avenue, POB 245057, Tucson, AZ 85724; fax 520-626-2480. E-mail: [email protected].

Supervising editor: Robert K. Knopp, MD

Funding and support: The authors report this study did not receive any outside funding or support.

SEE RELATED ARTICLE, P. 282.

Publication dates: Available online July 10, 2006.

Presented at the Second Congress of Emergency Medicine, May 2004, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Publication dates: Received for publication January 5, 2006. Revisions received March 28, 2006, April 5, 2006, and May 19, 2006. Accepted for publication May 23, 2006. Available online July 10, 2006.

Annals of Emergency Medicine 49(3):p 275-281, March 2007.

This 2-article series offers a conceptual, historical, and moral analysis of the practice of triage. Part I distinguishes triage from related concepts, reviews the evolution of triage principles and practices, and describes the settings in which triage is commonly practiced. Part II identifies and examines the moral values and principles underlying the practice of triage.