What is meant by the word "triage" in this context? [closed]
I don't understand what triage means at a site I encountered here:
TOOLS FOR DETECTION, TRACEABILITY, TRIAGE AND INDIVIDUAL MONITORING OF VICTIMS
TOXI-triage project addresses the operational, technological, ethical and societal dimensions of CBRN response and recovery, and importantly the economic base from which sustainable CBRN and multiuse systems are derived.
In the dictionary there are different meaning of this word which confused me.
the process of quickly examining patients who are taken to a hospital in order to decide which ones are the most seriously ill and must be treated first:
Cambridge
Also:
: the assigning of priority order to projects on the basis of where funds and other resources can be best used, are most needed, or are most likely to achieve success
Merriam Webster
Triage was perhaps best explained in an episode of the old Mash TV series. It consists (in the emergency medical sense) of dividing incoming patients into three groups:
- Those who have only minor injuries/illnesses and who can therefore wait until others have been taken care of.
- Those who are too severely injured/ill to be expected to survive. These patients should also have treatment deferred until resources are available.
- Those who have injuries/illnesses sufficiently severe to put them at risk of death or permanent disability, but for whom immediate care will likely be of significant benefit. This group is given priority.
The term is often applied in a metaphorical (and less morbid) sense to non-medical scenarios (though I suspect that often the term's full meaning is not understood and appreciated).