Article Exploring New Intake Models

The objective of this article was to explore new intake models for processing patients into the emergency department (ED) and disseminate these new ideas. In the fall of 2008, the Board of Directors of the Emergency Department Bench-marking Alliance (EDBA) identified intake as an area of focus and asked its members to submit new intake strategies alternative to traditional triage. All EDBA members were invited to participate via an e-mail survey. New models could be of their own design or developed by another organization and presented with permission. In all, 25 departments provided information on intake innovations. These submissions were collated into a document that outlines some of the new models. Collaborative methodology promoted the diffusion of innovation in this organization. The results of the project are presented here as an original article that outlines some of the new and mostly unpublished work occur-ring to improve the intake process into the ED. Keywords quality improvement, emergency department, triage, learning community According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the modern-day emergency department (ED) is the point of entry for more than half of all patients admit