Quantification of responses received during medical triage

A system for enabling a triage operator using a computer to determine a triage disposition of a person, comprising:

• (a) a computer having a processor and system storage, wherein stored in the storage comprises a database populated with a plurality of triage categories comprising symptoms and injuries, wherein each of the plurality of triage categories comprises a plurality of yes/no questions grouped into a plurality of tiers that are ranked according to urgency, and wherein each of the plurality of tiers corresponds to a triage disposition stored in relation thereto;
• (b) wherein the processor provides to a triage operator, through a graphical user interface (GUI) of the computer:
• (i) a plurality of triage categories comprising symptoms and injuries, wherein each of the plurality of triage categories comprises a plurality of yes/no questions grouped into a plurality of tiers that are ranked according to urgency, and wherein each of the plurality of tiers corresponds to a triage disposition;
• (ii) a selection of a relevant triage category from the plurality of triage categories based on an answer received from the person in response to an initial inquiry into a medical condition of the person;
• (iii) a quantification tool comprising follow-up questions related to one or more selected from the group consisting of symptoms, observations, and injury mechanisms, to enable the triage operator to quantify a level of severity of a symptom or injury related to yes/no questions of a subjective nature;
• (c) wherein the triage operator determines a triage disposition for the person by providing triage to the person comprising:
• (i) asking, sequentially, the yes/no questions for the relevant triage category as displayed in the GUI;
• and
• (ii) asking follow-up questions from the quantification tool to determine whether a response to a yes/no question is properly considered “yes” or “no,” as stated in a response by the person.

A computer-readable storage medium comprising a set of instructions for executing a graphical user interface (GUI) that enables a triage operator to determine a triage disposition for a person, the instructions executable by a computer having a processor and memory, the set of instructions to direct the processor to perform the acts of:

• (a) providing, by the computer, to the triage operator:
• (i) a plurality of triage categories comprising symptoms and injuries, wherein each of the plurality of triage categories comprises a plurality of yes/no questions grouped into a plurality of tiers that are ranked according to urgency, and wherein each of the plurality of tiers corresponds to a triage disposition;
• (ii) a selection of a relevant triage category from the plurality of triage categories based on an answer received from the person in response to an initial inquiry into a medical condition of the person;
• (iii) a quantification tool comprising follow-up questions related to one or more selected from the group consisting of symptoms, observations, and injury mechanisms, to enable the triage operator to quantify a level of severity of a symptom or injury related to yes/no questions of a subjective nature;
• (b) wherein the triage operator determines a triage disposition for the person by providing triage to the person comprising:
• (i) asking, sequentially, the yes/no questions for the relevant triage category as displayed in the GUI;
• and
• (ii) asking follow-up questions from the quantification tool to determine whether a response to a yes/no question is properly considered “yes” or “no,” as stated in a response by the person.