Nick Chmielewski speaks with Lisa Wolf, PhD, RN, CEN, FAEN, FAAN regarding the state of triage accuracy in US emergency departments. They focus on the impact of poor accuracy on patient outcomes and essential information that nurse executives should know to improve triage quality in their organizations.

Emergency department triage accuracy hovers at about 60 percent overall, and at only 43 percent on the ability to distinguish patient stability from decompensation risk. Triage accuracy is associated with core measures’ compliance and timely admissions to the intensive care unit. It is a matter of patient safety and financial stewardship.