Inter‐rater reliability of the National Triage Scale over 11,500 simulated occasions of triage

Abstract

AbstractSince its introduction in 1993, the National Triage Scale (NTS), a five‐category scale based on the optimal time to medical intervention, has been introduced into most Australasian emergency departments as the basis of triage, clinical indicators and in some departments, casemix classification. The scale is a modification of the Ipswich Triage Scale (ITS), developed in 1989. This scale was shown in separate studies in Ipswich and Perth to be reliable and valid. The NTS however, although well validated, particularly with regard to resource use, workload and admission rates, has not been formally tested for inter‐rater reliability.In this study the inter‐rater reliability of the NTS wa..