Triage Tags add a color-coded bar to a patient’s Status Board and can be used to indicate patient acuity, nursing assignments, or specific client or patient concerns. You can even click a triage tag twice to fast-track it, increasing its priority above the original color.
The Status Board can also be sorted by triage tags by selecting Sort by Triage Tag at the top of the In/Out column.
We’ve digitized this concept in Instinct using a red-to-blue (plus pink) triage color system. This system is intentionally flexible, allowing your hospital to define what each color represents based on your workflows and patient care standards.
Below are a few examples of how these are being used in some hospitals:
Outpatient (OP) Board
You may choose to use only three or four colors if preferred. The system is completely flexible.
Red – Needs immediate attention (cardiac arrest, major trauma, unresponsive patient, heavy bleeding)
Orange – Should not wait long (disoriented, distressed, suspected fracture)
Yellow – Somewhat stable or mildly abnormal vital signs
Green – Stable patient with normal vital signs
Blue – Not an emergency
Pink – Euthanasia or possible euthanasia
Inpatient (IP) Board
On the Inpatient Board, triage tags are often used to communicate additional non-urgency information, such as:
Nurse assignments – Each nurse is assigned a specific color per shift
Code status
Red – Do Not Resuscitate (DNR)
Green – Full CPR
Green – Client has cost concerns
Pink – Plan to euthanize