3 Patient Triage and Transport Priority Free Online FlashCards

What decisions does triage make?

Triage repeatedly determines who needs care first, what cannot wait, and where a patient should go; it is not a diagnosis.

How do routine and mass-casualty triage differ?

Routine EMS triage aims to provide appropriate care and transport to each patient. Mass-casualty triage allocates scarce responders, equipment, and transport for the greatest overall benefit.

Why is triage not a one-time decision?

Triage is dynamic: reassess as the patient’s condition or available resources change, and revise priority when new information warrants it.

What should responders establish before patient assessment?

Check hazards, the number of patients, available help, and whether a mass-casualty plan is active; request additional resources early when needed.

Which findings should a rapid initial assessment check?

Rapidly assess airway, breathing, circulation and major bleeding, level of consciousness, and other critical findings; treat immediate threats within training and protocol.

What factors guide a working priority?

Consider instability, risk of worsening, and the need for time-sensitive intervention or a specialized facility. Do not let one reassuring sign outweigh a concerning overall picture.

How should essential care relate to transport preparation?

Provide essential care while preparing to move, then continue appropriate assessment and treatment en route; stabilization and transport are not always separate steps.

What distinguishes immediate, urgent, and lower acuity?

Immediate or critical means an active or impending threat to life or limb; urgent means significant illness or injury needing timely evaluation; lower acuity means no current evidence of an immediate threat.

What does “expectant” mean in SALT triage?

In SALT mass-casualty triage, expectant reflects the likelihood of survival given injury severity and available resources; it is not a routine individual-patient label.

What reassessment intervals are commonly taught for unstable and stable patients?

A commonly taught interval is at least every 5 minutes for unstable patients and every 15 minutes for stable patients, but local protocols may differ and changing conditions call for sooner reassessment.

What should responders do if a patient deteriorates?

Return to the immediate-threat assessment, address priorities within scope, alert the receiving facility or medical control as appropriate, and reconsider transport priority and destination.

How should responders prioritize when several patients need help?

Prioritize by urgency, risk of deterioration, and likely benefit of available care—not by who is loudest, easiest to reach, or first to ask.