'Reverse triage' adds to surge capacity.

Providing adequate surge capacity during a disaster is one of the greatest challenges of emergency response. Now, researchers have proposed a new process called "reverse triage" to help create surge capacity that otherwise would not exist. Patients who have only a slight chance of experiencing an adverse event within four days of leaving the hospital may be discharged to free bed space. ED staff can provide a daily initial reverse triage score for patients being admitted, even if a disaster is not imminent. While general guidelines can have great value, take the interests of the patient and their family into account when making discharge decisions.