Electronic and manual registration of Manchester System: reliability, accuracy, and time evaluation

OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the degree of reliability, accuracy and timing to perform the Manchester Triage System in electronic and manual records. METHOD: exploratory-descriptive research. Case series corresponded to a total of 20 validated simulated clinical cases applied to a sample of 10 nurses. For data collection each participant received 4 clinical cases in 2 different phases of the study, using manual and electronic registration. The variables related to the triage were: incomplete data filling, discriminator, flowchart, priority level, vital signs and triage timing. RESULTS: moderate reliability for choosing flowcharts and substantial reliability for determining discriminators in both records; substantial and moderate, for priority, respectively, in manual and electronic registration. For vital signs, it was weak in manual recording and substantial in electronic. Accuracy showed a statistically significant difference related to vital signs. The average timing on triage was shorter with the use of electronic registration. CONCLUSION: the use of electronic registration has advantages regarding reliability, accuracy and timing to perform the triage, pointing to the importance of adopting technologies in the management and care work process in health services.