Providing standardized medical triage

• US 20060100909A1
• Filed: 11/09/2004
• Published: 05/11/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Medcor Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Medcor Incorporated
• Inventors: Glimp, Thomas H., Victorson, Troyt M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,720,692 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/3
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/20 for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

A triage category for determining a medical triage disposition includes a set of tiered triage questions comprising a plurality of only yes/no questions arranged in a plurality of tiers. The tiers are ranked according to a level of urgency. There is also a plurality of dispositions corresponding to the plurality of tiers. One of the plurality of dispositions is selected when one of the plurality of only yes/no questions is answered “yes.”

Claims

1. A triage category for determining a medical triage disposition, comprising:

a set of tiered triage questions comprising a plurality of only yes/no questions arranged in a plurality of tiers, wherein the plurality of tiers are ranked according to a level of urgency; and

a plurality of dispositions corresponding to the plurality of tiers, wherein one of the plurality of dispositions is selected when one of the plurality of only yes/no questions is answered “

yes.”

2. The triage category of claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of dispositions is always selected after the set of tiered triage questions is asked.

3. The triage category of claim 1, wherein one of the triage category and the set of tiered triage questions is developed in accordance with a rule set.

4. The triage category of claim 3, wherein the rule set improves triage consistency.

5. The triage category of claim 1, wherein one of the triage category and the plurality of only yes/no questions is symptom-based.

6. The triage category of claim 1, wherein the plurality of only yes/no questions is answered by a triage operator.

7. The triage category of claim 1, further comprising clinical frame inquiries related to at least one of a time of injury, a place of injury and a mechanism of injury.

8. The triage category of claim 1, wherein the plurality of dispositions are selected from a group consisting of:

emergent-911 transport by an emergency medical service to a medical provider;

emergent referral immediately to a medical provider;

urgent referral to a medical provider within about two days of the disposition being selected;

non-urgent referral to a medical provider within several days of the disposition being selected;

self-care instructions;

interim self-care instructions; and

report only.

9. A set of standardized triage categories for organizing medical triage inquiries, comprising:

a plurality of triage categories, each of which being related to one of a medical condition and a body part;

a plurality of tiers within each of the plurality of triage categories, wherein the plurality of tiers are ranked according to urgency level, and wherein each of the plurality of tiers corresponds to one of a plurality of triage dispositions; and

only yes/no questions sorted into the plurality of triage categories, wherein the questions are sorted into the plurality of tiers based on a correlation that each of the questions has with the urgency level of each of the plurality of tiers;

wherein a “

yes”

answer to one of the questions indicates the presence of a symptom related to a medical condition and a “

no”

answer to one of the questions indicates the absence of the symptom related to the medical condition.

10. The set of standardized triage categories of claim 9, wherein the plurality of triage dispositions are selected from a group consisting of:

emergent-911 transport by an emergency medical service to a medical provider;

emergent referral immediately to a medical provider;

urgent referral to a medical provider within about two days of the disposition being selected;

non-urgent referral to a medical provider within several days of the disposition being selected;

self-care instructions;

interim self-care instructions; and

report only.

11. The set of standardized triage categories of claim 9, wherein any of the only yes/no questions for which a “

yes”

answer does not result in a selection of one of the plurality of triage dispositions is eliminated.

12. The set of standardized triage categories of claim 9, wherein the only yes/no questions are developed in accordance with a rule set.

13. The set of standardized triage categories of claim 12, wherein the rule set improves triage consistency.

14. The set of standardized triage categories of claim 9, wherein the only yes/no questions are answered by a triage operator.

15. The set of standardized triage categories of claim 9, further comprising clinical frame inquiries related to at least one of a time of injury, a place of injury and a mechanism of injury.

16. The set of standardized triage categories of claim 9, wherein one of the plurality of triage categories and the only yes/no questions is symptom based.

17. A method of determining tiered triage questions for a triage category, comprising:

identifying one of a medical condition and a body part;

determining only yes/no questions, wherein a “

yes”

answer to one of the questions indicates the presence of a symptom related to the medical condition and a “

no”

answer to one of the questions indicates the absence of a symptom related to one of the medical condition and the body part;

providing a plurality of tiers ranked according to urgency level, each of the plurality of tiers corresponding to one of a plurality of triage dispositions; and

sorting each of the questions into the plurality of tiers based on a correlation that each of the questions has with the urgency level of each of the plurality of tiers.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising eliminating any of the questions for which a “

yes”

answer does not result in a selection of one of the plurality of dispositions.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the plurality of dispositions are selected from a group consisting of:

emergent-911 transport by an emergency medical service to a medical provider;

emergent referral immediately to a medical provider;

urgent referral to a medical provider within about two days of the disposition being selected;

non-urgent referral to a medical provider within several days of the disposition being selected;

self-care instructions;

interim self-care instructions; and

report only.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the questions are developed in accordance with a rule set.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the rule set improves triage consistency.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the questions are to be answered by a triage operator.

23. The method of claim 17, further comprising determining clinical frame questions that relate to at least one of a time, a place and a mechanism of injury.

24. A triage category for determining a medical triage disposition, comprising:

a set of tiered triage questions comprising only yes/no questions arranged in a plurality of tiers, wherein the plurality of tiers are ranked according to a level of urgency; and

a plurality of dispositions corresponding to the plurality of tiers, wherein one of the plurality of dispositions is selected when one of the questions is answered “

no.”

25. The triage category of claim 24, wherein one of the plurality of dispositions is always selected after the questions are asked.

26. The triage category of claim 24, wherein one of the triage category and the set of tiered triage questions is developed in accordance with a rule set.