AHRQ's Quality & Patient Safety Programs by Setting: Emergency Department

Emergency Severity Index (ESI): A Triage Tool for Emergency Department Care, Version 4 is a five-level emergency department triage algorithm. The ESI tool, which includes an implementation manual and DVD, helps hospital emergency department staff rapidly identify patients in need of immediate attention, better identify patients who could safely and more efficiently be seen in a fast-track or urgent care center rather than the main emergency department, and more accurately determine thresholds for diversion of ambulance patients from the emergency department.

Improving the Emergency Department Discharge Process includes a definition of a high-quality emergency department (ED) discharge, a conceptual framework of the ED discharge process, and mapping of identified best practices, tools, and strategies to address problem areas, as well as criteria for effective ED discharge. The scan resulted in a screening checklist that can be used to quickly identify patients who are at high risk for frequent ED use.

Improving Patient Flow and Reducing Emergency Department Crowding: A Guide for Hospitals presents step-by-step instructions for planning and implementing patient flow improvement strategies to alleviate crowded emergency departments.