CDC Features

CDC Features

Field Triage Decision Scheme

To improve US emergency care and standardize decision-making at an injury scene, the CDC, along with key stakeholders, developed an algorithm called the Field Triage Decision Scheme. Learn more about this essential component of the emergency care system.

Everyday EMS providers in the United States have a substantial impact on the health and safety of Americans. On average, EMS providers respond to nearly 16.6 million transport calls every year and work in approximately 15,000 EMS systems across the county.

When an injury occurs, EMS providers have only minutes to decide which destination is best for emergency care of the injured person. This decision process is known as "field triage" and can save lives.

Research shows that if a person is severely injured and transported to a Level I trauma center, the chances of survival increase by 25%. To identify those at greatest risk for severe injury and determine the most appropriate facility to transport individuals with different types and severities of injury, prehospital providers use an algorithm called the Field Triage Decision Scheme.

The Decision Scheme is an essential component of the emergency care system. It helps guide EMS providers in transporting injured patients to the most appropriate facility, ensuring proper care and reducing the consequences of injury and death.

Each year, 41 million people are injured and require treatment in emergency departments. In accordance with the recommendations of the 2006 Institute of Medicine report on the state of emergency care in the U.S., CDC convened a panel of experts to examine existing care and develop a vision to improve this segment of the health care system.

The development process and scientific basis for the revised field triage guidelines are documented in Guidelines for Field Triage of Injured Patients: Recommendations of the National Expert Panel on Field Triage, published in MMWR Recommendations and Reports.

The Decision Scheme was developed after an extensive review of the literature by the National Expert Panel on Field Triage in collaboration with the American College of Surgeons-Committee on Trauma and with support from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Panel, which included representatives from EMS, emergency medicine, trauma surgery, the automotive industry, public health, and several federal agencies, brought a wider range of disciplines and expertise into the revision process than ever before.

Each day EMS providers work to get every patient to the right place, at the right time, by making rapid on-scene triage decisions. In achieving this goal, they help ensure that more Americans live to their full potential.