Patients Treated by Urgency Category

Identifying Attributes

Care Settings
Hospital Care
Country
Australia
Publishing Organisation
Victorian Agency for Health Information (VAHI): Victorian Health Services Performance
Type of Quality Indicator
Process
IOM Quality Dimension
Timeliness
Domain
Emergency Care

Defining Attributes

Definition

The number and percentage of patients who were treated in emergency departments within the recommended times according to triage category.

Numerator

The number of patients who were treated in emergency departments according to triage category: Triage category 1 (need for resuscitation): requires treatment immediately; Triage category 2 (emergency): requires treatment within 10 minutes; Triage category 3 (urgent): requires treatment within 30 minutes; Triage category 4 (semi-urgent): requires treatment within 1 hour; Triage category 5 (non-urgent): requires treatment within 2 hours.

Denominator

The number of patients who were treated in emergency departments in each triage category.

Exclusions

Excludes those who left at their own risk without treatment, those who left after clinical advice, or those who were deceased on arrival.

Use of Risk Adjustment
No
Risk Adjustments

None

Stratifications

By urgency category and hospital.

Collection and Reporting Attributes

Type of Data Collection
Administrative data
Data Collection Methods

Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset (VEMD)

Frequency of Data Collection
Quarterly
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
91
Reporting Frequency
Quarterly
Reporting Frequency in Days
91
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
Yes

Source and Reference Attributes

Link to Measurement Tools
Quality Indicator Confirmed to be Part of a Program Used to Monitor Quality and Safety of Care Among Older People at a Population-Level between 2012-2022
Yes
Assessed by the Australian Consortium for Aged Care Collaborators as Generally Containing Good Properties (Importance and Scientific Acceptability)
Yes
Australian Consortium for Aged Care Endorsed
Yes
Identified by PHARMA-Care Project
No
Upload Date
02 December 2025