The following is the fifth in a series of ten articles that originally appeared in the Indiana Medical Society’s monthly magazine “The Bulletin.” As President of the Indiana Medical Society over the past year, Dr. McGoff wrote on a wide variety of topics, most importantly the current condition of health care in the United States. These articles will help illustrate Dr. McGoff’s views and beliefs. This article appeared in the March 2009 issue.
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Triage \ trē-’äzh, \ noun, French, sorting, sifting, from trier to sort, from Old French – 1. The sorting of and allocation of treatment to patients and especially battle and disaster victims according to a system of priorities designed to maximize the number of survivors – 2. The sorting of patients (as in an emergency room) according to the urgency of their need for care.
Most doctors are familiar with the process of triage. As an emergency physician, it is something...