Triage System Implementation in Public Hospitals of Buenos Aires Province

Abstract

The purpose of this report was to describe the actions taken to execute the Comprehensive Hospital Emergency Room Plan (PIGH, for its acronym in Spanish) and to share the main health results from the implemented TRIAGE system. METHODS: The PIGH was set as one of the main government objectives and was successfully applied during 2017 to 2019 in 58 public hospitals belonging to the Ministry of Health of Buenos Aires Province. Intra- and interministerial strategic alliances with key actors were established and made it possible to carry out the plan. Different phases were necessary to implement the PIGH, with the TRIAGE system being the heart of the process. RESULTS: triage classifies patients requiring assistance by level of criticality. This resource optimizes the emergency room services, reducing the vulnerability of the patients in risky situations, improving workers’ capacity and promoting a better communication between all system users. DISCUSSION: The most relevant information coming from the implementation of this system is that almost 90% of the patients were green code, which means that they are not in life risk. For the first time this Ministry has a formal and immediate characterization of emergency room users.