Patient Assignment Models in the Emergency Department

Abstract

Early assignment of patients to specific treatment teams improves length of stay, rate of patients leaving without being seen, patient satisfaction, and resident education. Multiple variations of patient assignment systems exist, including provider-in-triage/team triage, fast-tracks/vertical pathways, and rotational patient assignment. The authors discuss the theory behind patient assignment systems and review potential benefits of specific models of patient assignment found in the current literature.

Keywords: Emergency department operations; Fast track; Physician assignment; Provider in triage; Rotational patient assignment.