The Emergency Severity Index is a five-level emergency department triage algorithm that helps stratify patients into five groups from 1 (most urgent) to 5 (least urgent) on the basis of acuity and resource needs.
ESI was designed to help hospital emergency departments rapidly identify patients who need immediate attention in the emergency department or would fare safely in a fast-track or urgent care center. ESI could also help emergency departments more accurately determine thresholds for diversion of ambulance patients from the emergency department.
Additional resources and information on AHRQ’s ESI can be found here.
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