Triage Versus Obstetric Emergency Department and Main Emergency Department: Best Practices

An obstetric emergency department (OBED) allows for timely, standardized and quality care by a clinician for pregnant patients presenting unscheduled to a hospital. Understanding the differences between a traditional labor and delivery triage model and an OBED are important in developing a successful, safe, and quality obstetric program that meets the needs of the community with appropriate resource allocation. The benefits in an OBED of every patient seen in a timely fashion by a clinician, and ultimately the impact on outcomes are noteworthy and should be considered when developing a labor and delivery unit.