What term means the medical screening of patients to determine their relative priority of need for treatment?

The term "triage" refers to the process for prioritizing patient treatment when there are limited treatment personnel and facilities (as in a major accident or disaster). Patients are assigned a degree of urgency to decide which are treated first.

In some cases, triage means that some critically ill or injured may be given only palliative care because their survival chance is minimal even with the most immediate and aggressive treatment available.