Trauma Patient Destinations & Triage Algorithms

The basic premise of getting the “Right Patient to the Right Place at the Right Time” was the foundation for the building blocks that make up Colorado’s Trauma System.

With this concept, Colorado’s 11 RETACs are charged with using the State’s  approved “Trauma Triage Algorithm”, and applying it to our regions. The trauma patient’s destination is a vital link in the EMTS system.

In 1995, The Foothills RETAC board carefully considered many factors when designing our policies. Geographical differences, medical facility availability and capabilities, specific EMS capabilities, and Medical Direction preference within our RETAC were all considered. The FRETAC decided to design county specific algorithms that would be EMS friendly for quick reference and understanding, ALWAYS keeping in mind what is best for the trauma patient.

For our New Trauma Triage Algorithm, we have tried to design an algorithm that would work for ALL of our counties in one document. This has been a really big challenge with our counties being very diverse. The draft has been kept intentionally generic, but provides guidelines to our prehospital providers.

What is best for the patients in your response area?

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