Registered Nurses’ Perceptions of the Electronic Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale in a Community Hospital
Abstract
In 2017, several hospitals in Ontario implemented the Electronic Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (eCTAS). This new technology affects a critical area of the Emergency Department: triage. There is no research on Registered Nurses’ (RNs) perceptions of eCTAS. A quantitative non-experimental descriptive survey obtained and quantified RN perceptions of eCTAS at a hospital with a 23 bed Emergency Department. The Diffusion of Innovation Theory was used as the theoretical framework to help guide study development. Results indicate both positive and negative perceptions of eCTAS and that younger RNs are more likely to think eCTAS cues them to collect the relevant patient information required at triage (P=0.008). The findings suggest that eCTAS is easy to use and is organized logically. eCTAS needs to be further studied ideally using a larger sample size with control groups and with a focus on RNs who are learning how to triage.