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Toby
Anderson

Dr. Toby Anderson currently sees 4,000 to 5,000 patients each year

Millington, Tennessee

Serving as a family practitioner and an emergency room physician at four separate medical facilities, Dr. Toby Anderson sees up to 5,000 patients annually. He works primarily from Dyersburg Regional Medical Center in Tennessee, where he is the Chief of the Emergency Department and sits on the Medical Staff Credentialing Committee and the Emergency Department Committee. Operating at the facility since 2006, Dr. Toby Anderson has earned the Excellence in Patient Care Award each of the last three years. Since 2010, Dr. Toby Anderson has also served the City of Dyersburg as the Emergency Department Representative for the Physicians Leadership Group, which meets monthly to discuss pertinent medical issues in the community. In addition to his work at Dyersburg Regional Medical Center, Dr. Toby Anderson is currently employed in various capacities at Forrest City Medical Center, SMC Regional Medical Center, Methodist Fayette Hospital, and Baptist Memorial Hospital – Lauderdale. Dr. Toby Anderson holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Lee University and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. He earned his board certification in family medicine in 2004 on his first attempt, and received extensive training in cardiac, trauma, pediatric, and neonatal life support techniques. In total, Dr. Toby Anderson has completed more than 900 credits of continuing education courses from several different organizations since earning his M.D. Aside from his professional work, Dr. Toby Anderson has displayed an ongoing commitment to promoting Christian causes and organizations through donations, volunteerism, and mission work. Utilizing his medical skills, he has volunteered with the Good Samaritan Health Clinic in Tennessee. Dr. Toby Anderson additionally donates to the Assemblies of God Bible Alliance, Voice of the Martyrs, the Assemblies of God World Missions, Coral Ridge Ministries, and Samaritan’s Purse. During his free time, he enjoys carpentry, horseback riding, and taekwondo. A lifelong member of the National Rifle Association, Dr. Toby Anderson likes to relax by target shooting.


Toby Anderson's Publications

  • Overview of Emergency Department Triage, by Toby Anderson, MD, Toby Anderson
    March, 2011
    by Toby Anderson, MD

    Triage, a concept pioneered during World War I, involves classifying patients according to the severity of their medical problems. Triage takes place when insufficient resources exist to treat all patients at once, which is often the case in any emergency setting. The goals and procedures of triage vary according to setting and country. For instance, patients with the most severe conditions are usually treated first. However, in an urgent military setting, an officer may instruct medical staff to engage in reverse triage, in order to send the least-wounded soldiers quickly back to the battlefield. Onsite triage at disaster sites also features somewhat different goals, as the primary question revolves around which patients can and need to be transported to a medical facility.

    In an emergency department, four to five main categories of triage exist. The lowest level is reserved for patients that are deceased and require no immediate care. The next level is for patients with minor injuries that can wait, then for those with substantial injuries that are not immediately life threatening, and finally patients who require immediate assistance in order to survive. In some settings, a fifth category may be assigned for patients that are severely injured and highly unlikely to survive. These patients are usually administered palliative analgesics while medical staff tends to urgent but treatable cases.

    Traditionally, triage was performed intuitively by medical staff, quickly evaluating patients based on the physician’s expertise. Some facilities still use this method, but research into triage techniques have provided emergency medical specialists with more efficient and effective triage tools for use in time-sensitive settings. For instance, patients presenting with chest pain make up a special conundrum for emergency medicine departments. While many of these individuals are not at risk of immediate heart attack, an incorrect triage can prove fatal. Through statistical analysis, researchers have developed chest-pain triage checklists that allow medical professionals to triage patients more accurately and quickly.

    About the author: Dr. Toby Anderson has worked in a range of medical settings. In addition to a successful family medicine practice, he holds the position of Associate Emergency Department Director at a hospital in Ripley, Tennessee.