Triage in Adult Intensive Care Units. Abstract and Executive Summary ofDissertation

摘要

This dissertation provides a detailed description of triage in adult intensivecare units (ICUs). Particular attention is given to two aspects of triage. The first aspect is the role of physicians, nurses, and hospital administrators in triage. These groups view triage work very differently. The degree of disagreement is particularly detrimental because triage is fundamentally about the common good and requires a high level of cooperation. The second aspect is the temporal nature of triage. The term 'triage' is reserved in theory for those 'times' when certain conditions occur simultaneously during the 'normal' activities of the unit. Several important implications of this finding are discussed. Building on these insights, the dissertation examines the extent to which these findings are generalizable and the factors that explain similarities and differences observed in nine other ICUs. Finally, the dissertation develops a framework to examine resource allocation (triage) systems. Policy implications of these findings are discussed in the concluding chapter.