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Making Complex Information Simple. How do triage scores affect physician behaviour in the emergency department?

Abstract: Doctors operate in high stakes environments where they need to make decisions quickly. This necessitates rapid collection and synthesis of information. Triage is one such mechanism that allows for speedy decisions. However, triage represents a simplification of information that could obscure important details of a patients case. Does triage information change how providers allocate resources for patients?

I examine a set of EDs that employ a five-point triage system. A patient's score is based on arbitrary cut-offs of vital signs, which creates a regression discontinuity that quasi-randomly assigns a triage score. A worse triage score causes physicians to increase the time they treat patients by 25% from baseline, and the amount that they order imaging tests by 10%. Physicians increase the probability of specialist consultation and admission to hospital. These increased resources do not impact patient return to ED rates, suggesting no consequent improved patient health.