Criteria currently used to evaluate dispatch triage systems: where do they leave us?*1

Some emergency medical services (EMS) systems are interested in considering the possibility of triaging some patients who call an emergency dispatch center to alternatives to the traditional emergency response, but concerns exist about the safety of that triage. In January 2003, the Neely Conference was held in association with the National Association of EMS Physicians annual meeting in Panama City, Florida. The Neely Conference began the process of developing criteria to be used in research studies evaluating dispatch and field triage systems. Various outcome measures have been used, including expert opinion, patient interviews, specific patient complaints, field findings and interventions, and emergency department or hospital outcomes. This commentary reviews the methods used in the current literature to evaluate dispatch triage systems.