Naujas požiūris į skubios medicinos pagalbos kategorijas
ENEmergency department is the first place where patients are taken or come seeking for medical help. This department is vital to the proper attribution of a patient to certain medical emergency categories. As currently used 4 emergency medicals assistance categories do not meet the practical needs. The survey results of this study confirm that there is a need to widen triage scale from 4 to 5 in order to increase efficiency of the emergency department and to reach more targeted initial assessment of patients ‘health state, which determines further testing and treatment. The aim of the work is to observe and assess the opinion of the leaders and specialists of emergency medical care about the currently used four categories emergency medical assistance triage system imperfection and suggested 5 EMA categories. Study object and methodology. Quantitative research was carried out by using a questionnaire survey method, data statistical analysis. The respondents were the heads of in-patient departments of the personal healthcare institutions and of ambulance services units, the heads/assistants of the reanimation, intensive care and emergency department units. Results. 71 percent of respondents claim that critical health state cover only in 1 and 2 currently used EMA categories named clinical states. 68,1 percent of respondents agree that EMA categories should be widen up to 5 and the following titles were essentially covered all the states, from critical to ambulatory: critical, very urgent, urgent, non-urgent, and ambulatory. 82,9 percent of respondents agree that patient’s EMA category must be registered in ambulance report. Conclusion. The concept vitally necessary medical aid is not identical to medical assistance to preserve health and save life and corresponds merely to EMA categories 1 and 2. Currently used 4 category EMA triage system do not cover ambulatory emergency cases.Suggested 5 EMA categories and period of time within which the patients of the named EMA categories should start getting EMA: critical (immediately, within 10 min.), very urgent (from 10 to 30 min.), urgent (from 30 min. to 1 hour), non-urgent (from 1 hour to 2 hours 30 min.) and ambulatory (from 2 hours 30 min. to 4 hours). To reduce patients’ transportation to Emergency department should be used the same EMA triage system in ambulance and emergency department reports. [From the publication]
