Knowledge Acquisition Process for Intelligent Decision Support in Critical Health Care

An efficient triage system is a good way to avoid some future problems and, how much quicker it is, more the patient can benefit. However, a limitation still exists, the triage system are general and not specific to each case. Manchester Triage System is a reliable known system and is focused in the emergency department of a hospital. When applied to specific patients’ conditions, such the pregnancy has several limitations. To overcome those limitations, an alternative triage system, integrated into an intelligent decision support system, was developed. The system classifies patients according to the severity of their clinical condition, establishing clinical priorities and not diagnosis. According to the woman urgency of attendance or problem type, it suggests one of the three possible categories of the triage. This paper presents the overall knowledge acquisition cycle associated to the workflow of patient arrival and the inherent decision making process. Results showed that this new approach enhances the efficiency and the safety through the appropriate use of resources and by assisting the right patient in the right place, reducing the waiting triage time and the number of women in general urgency.