How is the computer currently used in the triage in U.S. emergency rooms?

Many emergency departments around the country have implemented
computerized systems for patient registration, tracking, triage,
diagnosis, and prescriptions.

Several months ago, Alameda County, a large metropolitan county in
California, requested proposals for an Emergency Department
Information System. The request (available in PDF format) offers a
good overview of the way forward-looking emergency departments hope to
implement the latest technologies:
http://www.co.alameda.ca.us/gsa/purchasing/bidContent_ftp/rfpDocs/EDIS%20RFP.pdf

A wireless networking company called Proxim has an article entitled
"No Waiting at Winthrop Winthrop-University Hospital," in which it
describes how its networking products and Fujitsu pen-tablet computers
are used in several aspects of emergency room triage, including
patient registration and initial treatment.
http://www.proxim.com/learn/library/casestudies/cs2001-winthrop.html

Although it's a few years old, this article, "Emergency Department
Integrated Computer Software Information Management Systems," by Mark
L. DeBard, MD, FACEP, offers a good overview of the general uses of
computer systems in U.S. emergency  rooms:
http://www.ncemi.org/eddocuments/ed-systems.htm

The web sites of various vendors of emergency room software offer an
idea of how computers are used in triage:

HealthMatics EMR
http://www.a4healthsystems.com/HMEMR.htm

T-systems
http://www.tsystem.com/

Wellsoft
http://www.wellsoft.com/

Emergisoft
http://www.emergisoft.com/home.htm
Google search: triage software

I hope this helps. Let me know if you need additional information:

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 28 May 2002 02:02 PDT

I should have noted that there's a really good 7-point checklist of
computer system requirements specifically related to triage on page 3
of the Alameda County pdf file listed above.

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 28 May 2002 02:21 PDT

You might also take a look at a program called Dynasty Triage Advisor:
http://www.dynasty.com/goSolutions/triage/

An article about the Dynasty Triage Advisor is available on this web site:
http://www.hugin.com/cases/Medicine/Dynasty_Triage_Advisor.article

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 28 May 2002 02:46 PDT

Just doing a little more research on this one...
This article briefly discusses some of the downsides of
computer-assisted triage (e.g., possible misdiagnosis):
http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic670.htm

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Request for Answer Clarification by hagen-ga on 30 May 2002 09:27 PDT

Thank you very much for this elaborate answer. I am quite satisfied. 

In case you know an overview or just some numbers or links to those
regarding the hospital market in the U.S. or other industrialized
countries and their usage of those computer-assisted triage systems
that would be a great additional feature. However, I guess this is too
much asked for. In that case I am happy with your answers as they are.

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 30 May 2002 10:54 PDT

This article from the American College of Emergency Physicians offers
a brief overview of the use of computer technology in emergency
departments in the United States.  The article indicates that of the
5,000 emergency departments in the U.S., at least one in six has
upgraded to "new technologies."
http://www.acep.org/1,2894,0.html

This article from Healthcare Informatics is a little old (Feb. 1998),
but at the time it was written, of emergency departments surveyed
"[m]ore than 70 percent were still using manual/paper entry for triage
documentation, discharge instructions, medical records and patient
tracking."
http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/issues/1998/02_98/n_t.htm

I hope this helps. Good luck.

Excellent answer! Appreciate that very much.