Priority Levels for care in the Hospital and Community Setting

Use this guide to select who you need to see in which order

Criticality Level	Assessed Problems
Level 1	Immediate Airway and Breathing and Circulation Problems* *The problem needs to be occurring at this time (i.e. Pulmonary edema or hemorrhage)
Level 2	Sudden changes in the mental status or level of consciousness (from baseline)
Level 3	New onset vital signs changes especially pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate, or oxygen saturation if these are specifically mentioned
Level 4	Unstable metabolic disorders and diagnostic test results. Conditions would include severe hypo- hyper- glycemic conditions (providing mental status changes have not already occurred which moves that problem to level 2) CBC results without description of problems or complaints Severe electrolyte abnormalities with no additional information provided regarding the findings
Level 5	Complaints of pain especially post-operative pain (exception: If pain is described as cardiac in origin, move that complaint to a level one response)

Note: These are only examples of some of the problems possible. Practice selecting patients in various situations and applying these principles to the cases.