Determining the priority of the patient's complaints is called what?

• A. Scheduling
• B. Triage
• C. Screening
• D. Assessment

Answer: (B)

Triage is the process of prioritizing patient care based on how urgent their condition is. In a clinic setting, it helps decide who needs immediate attention and who can wait, guiding the order in which patients are seen and how resources are allocated. This is different from scheduling, which is about setting appointment times; screening, which looks for disease in people without obvious symptoms; and assessment, which is a broader evaluation of a patient’s overall health status. If someone comes in with something urgent like sudden vision loss or severe eye pain, they would be triaged as a high priority.