Health Technologies:
ClearED: Predictive Triage That Safely Clears ED Congestion
Deborah Diercks, M.D.
- Professor and Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center
- She holds the Audre and Bernard Rapoport Distinguished Chair in Clinical Care and Research. Center
Emergency departments handle ~140 million visits a year in the U.S., and many are low‑acuity cases that could be treated elsewhere, which drives crowding and delays. ClearED uses proven clinical rules plus AI to identify low‑risk patients quickly and route them to safer, lower‑cost sites of care or to rapid discharge with follow‑up. This reduces dangerous overcrowding, linked in the literature to delays and worse outcomes, and frees clinicians to focus on true emergencies. The economic upside is compelling: a typical ED visit averages about $1,646 vs $171 for urgent care, so even modest redirection unlocks significant savings. ClearED integrates with Epic so recommendations are documented automatically and follow‑ups are booked, turning guidance into closed‑loop action.
