MCI Triage App

These days it seems like there is an app for everything.....probably because there is an app for just about everything.

Island Software has recently released the app MCI Triage for iPhone.  At only $5.99, this app is a must have for EMS paramedics, ambulance officers, figherfighters, law enforcement officers, and any other emergency services personnel that may need to respond to a mass-casualty incident.

In 1983 the staff at Hoag Hospital and Newport Beach Fire Department in California developed a system in which first responders could assess multiple patients in the field at a mass casualty incident (MCI) and easily pass that information on to the doctors who would need to treat these multiple patients as they arrive at the hospital.  They developed START (Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment).  START revolutionized the speed with which hospital staff could begin treatment of MCI patients, because it eliminated the need to re-triage patients when they arrived at the emergency room.

The MCI Triage app was built upon these same principles.  Utilizing simple prompts (such as breathing, normal respiration, ambulatory), the app will assist you in determining the patient's triage category (alpha, bravo, charlie or delta) and allows you to add identifying information about them including their age, gender and location.  This information can easily be updated, allowing first responders to make changes to a patient's status.

All of the information collected in MCI Triage can easily be shared with incident command, dispatch center for the EMS/Fire/Police, and the receiving medical facility via email.  The incident summary can also be sent via text message to one or multiple contacts.