AutoTriage: Optimizing Healthcare Triage with AI

Triage services are a critical juncture in healthcare delivery, where the prompt and accurate evaluation of patient needs is vital. Despite its importance, current triage practices are often marked by inefficiency, contributing to unnecessary emergency department visits that account for up to two-thirds of all cases. These misjudged triage situations can lead to inordinate delays and the use of medical resources on low-value care, substantially impacting healthcare expenditure with an excess of $32 billion spent nationally (1)(2). Complications in the triage process, highlighted by the extensive number of potential outcomes—over 120 permutations—exacerbate the difficulty of implementing effective and precise assessment systems in medical institutions (3). With emergency departments experiencing increased wait times, some patients endure over 12-hour delays from admission to a treatment decision (4), signaling a pressing need for improved triage protocols (5).

• Triage services are crucial for evaluating patient needs, but current practices are inefficient, leading to unnecessary emergency department visits.
• Ineffective triage contributes to delays, misuses medical resources, and costs over $32 billion nationally.
• With over 120 potential outcomes and wait times exceeding 12 hours for some patients, there is a pressing need for improved triage protocols.

To streamline the triage process and help healthcare providers quickly assess patients' symptoms and urgency, a digital health assistant, "TriagePro AI", was developed for use in healthcare environments. high traffic.

The protocols and recommendations of the digital assistant are based on the "Manual for the implementation of a triage system in emergency rooms" of the Pan American Health Organization (6) and Moreno's comprehensive triage guidelines (7). By leveraging these established resources, the tool aligns with recognized classification procedures and assists healthcare providers in decision making.