Triage and admission

What triage does

When a patient arrives at the Emergency Ward, triage is the rapid assessment that determines the severity of their condition and the order in which they are treated. In Usystems, triage captures vital signs, chief complaint, and urgency classification, creating a case record that flows into billing and medical records.

Before you start

• You have permission to access the Emergency Ward module
• Your facility's triage workflow is configured (urgency levels, vital signs fields)
• You have a queue token or patient ID for the arriving patient (or you can create a new walk-in contact)

Steps

1. Navigate to Queues

   Go to Queues Open in Usystems to see the emergency queue for your ward.

2. Scan or select the patient token

   If you have a queue token (printed or scanned), scan it or tap the token number in the queue list. If the patient is a walk-in, search for or create a new patient contact.

3. Register or confirm the patient

   If the patient is new, enter their basic information (name, date of birth, contact details). If they exist in the system, confirm their record.

4. Create a new medical case

   Once the patient is selected, the system creates a new medical case for this visit. Enter the chief complaint (reason for visit, e.g., "chest pain", "trauma").

5. Perform rapid triage assessment

   Record the patient's vital signs and urgency level:

   • Vital signs: heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, temperature, oxygen saturation
   • Urgency classification: choose from your facility's triage scale (e.g., Critical, Emergent, Urgent, Minor)
   • Triage notes: any initial observations (appearance, distress, symptoms)

6. Assign to department or doctor

   Based on the urgency and chief complaint, the system may suggest routing. Confirm or override the assigned doctor or department (e.g., General Surgery, Cardiology).

7. Save and move to service delivery

   Complete the triage record. The patient now appears in the assigned doctor's queue and in reports. The case is ready for service delivery and billing.

Nursing or clinical impact

Triage data becomes part of the patient's permanent medical record. The urgency classification affects billing and resource allocation—do not classify casually. Vital signs are used in reports and clinical decision-making.

Tips & common mistakes

• Don't skip vital signs. Even if the patient is ambulatory, record at least heart rate, BP, and temperature for accuracy and completeness.
• Chief complaint is free text. Use the patient's own words (or their guardian's) when possible; this aids clinical recall and billing justification.
• Urgency drives order, not speed. A patient classified as "Emergent" will be seen before a "Routine" patient, even if they were registered later.
• If the patient is already in the system, confirm their identity by ID or date of birth to avoid duplicate records and billing errors.