Evidence-Based Patient Triage: Optimizing Healthcare Delivery Through Appropriate Site-of-Care Selection

Healthcare systems face increasing pressure from emergency department overcrowding, rising costs, and suboptimal patient outcomes. This paper presents a narrative evidence synthesis and integrative review of the published literature on patient triage systems that direct patients to appropriate care settings (emergency departments, urgent care centers, and primary care facilities). The evidence synthesis methodology employed combines findings from systematic reviews, observational studies, cost-effectiveness analyses, and quality improvement reports to provide a comprehensive overview of triage implementation and outcomes. Data sources include peer-reviewed publications from emergency medicine, primary care, and health services research journals; government health statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ); professional organization reports from the Urgent Care Association of America and American College of Emergency Physicians; and health system performance data. References span from 2003 to 2023, with emphasis on studies published in the past decade to reflect current patterns of healthcare delivery. This integrative approach allows for the practical application of research findings to real-world healthcare delivery challenges. While individual studies may have methodological limitations, the convergence of evidence across multiple research designs, settings, and populations strengthens confidence in the key conclusions. Evidence strongly supports implementing structured patient triage protocols to direct patients to the most appropriate care setting among emergency departments, urgent care centers, and primary care facilities.