Definition of Triage

Triage: The process of sorting people based on their need for immediate medical treatment as compared to their chance of benefiting from such care. Triage is done in emergency rooms, disasters and wars when limited medical resources must be allocated to maximize the number of survivors.

The US Department of Defense defines "triage" as follows: "The evaluation and classification of casualties for purposes of treatment and evacuation. It consists of the immediate sorting of patients according to type and seriousness of injury, and likelihood of survival, and the establishment of priority for treatment and evacuation to assure medical care of the greatest benefit to the largest number."

Triage in this sense originated in World War I. Wounded soldiers were classified into one of three groups: those who could be expected to live without medical care; those who would likely die even with care; and those who could survive if they received care.

"Triage" is a French word meaning "sorting, selection, choice." It came from the French verb "trier" meaning "to sort, select, choose" and has been used in English since 1727 to indicate the action of assorting according to quality. For example, coffee beans have long been triaged.