Fig. 2

Prehospital Triage System depending on acuity in Japan. Emergency medical service personnel respond to emergency calls and triage patients according to their perceived acuity per the protocol. A Designated Primary Emergency Care Hospital is chosen if the patient is well enough to be discharged. A Designated Secondary Emergency Care Hospital is chosen if the patient is sick enough to be admitted to a Medical/Surgical Floor. A Designated Tertiary Emergency Care Hospital is chosen if the patients is sick enough to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or to require emergent interventions in the operating room (OR)