The Role of the Medical Consultant - Archived 2014 Version

Hugo Q. Cheng, MD and Leonard Feldman, MD

SUMMARY

Medical consultation is an important clinical component for most hospitalists. Traditionally, consultants evaluated patients at the request of the referring physician (RP) and provided an assessment and recommendations. Today, hospitalists are also asked to provide both “curbside” advice and more comprehensive comanagement of medical problems. Hospitalists who are effective consultants communicate skillfully and act professionally. The following module describes the different roles that hospitalists can perform as medical consultants and provides strategies for improving communication and RP satisfaction.

GOAL

To educate hospitalists about their evolving role as medical consultants and to improve patient care by improving the consultant’s ability to communicate with and understand the needs of the referring physicians.

TARGET AUDIENCE

This activity is designed for hospitalists.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After completing the module, the participant will demonstrate the ability to:

  1. Recognize why consultative medicine is an important topic and describe how it has been traditionally performed.
  2. Compare the different responsibilities and expectations of the medical consultant when performing comanagement or curbside consultation.
  3. Assess strategies that may increase referring physician (RP) compliance with the consultant’s recommendations.
  4. Propose methods that promote more effective communication with RPs through verbal discussion.
  5. Formulate methods that promote more effective communication with RPs through written consultation reports.
  6. Propose professional behavior for medical consultants.
CME INFORMATION

Credit Designation Statement:
The Society of Hospital Medicine designates this activity for a maximum of 2 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Release date: October 6, 2014. Expiration date: October 6, 2017.

Estimated time to complete activity: 2 hours

INSTRUCTIONS

The following is an interactive educational module designed to help you gauge your basic knowledge of the topic and then direct you to areas you may need to focus on. It consists of 3 sections: an unaccredited pre-test, a study program, and a CME post-test. All 3 sections must be completed to receive CME credit.

Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 2.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
  • 2.00 Non-physician
Course opens: 
10/06/2014
Course expires: 
10/06/2017
Member cost:
$0.00
Your cost:
$45.00
Rating: 
0

Leonard Feldman, MD, FACP, SFHM
Associate Professor of Medicine
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Urban Health Residency and Track Director
Associate Program Director, Osler Medical Residency
Director, Comprehensive General Medicine Consult Service
Founding Editor-in-Chief, Consultative & Perioperative Medicine Essentials for Hospitalists
Baltimore, Maryland

Dr Feldman reports having no significant financial or advisory relationships with corporate organizations related to this activity.

Kurt Pfeifer, MD, FACP, SFHM
Professor of Medicine
General Internal Medicine
Medical Director, Froedtert and Medical College of Wisconsin Eye Institute Perioperative Services
Medical College of Wisconsin
Associate Editor-in-Chief, Consultative & Perioperative Medicine Essentials for Hospitalists
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Dr. Pfeifer reports having no relevant financial or advisory relationships with corporate organizations related to this activity.

Hugo Q. Cheng, MD
Clinical Professor of Medicine 
Division of Hospital Medicine
Director, Medicine Consultation Service and Comanagement with Neurosurgery Service 
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, California

Dr Cheng reports having no relevant financial or advisory relationships with corporate organizations related to this activity.

Bartho Caponi, MD (Peer Reviewer for 2014 revision)
Clinical Assistant Professor
Division of Hospital Medicine
University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics
Madison, Wisconsin

Dr Caponi reports having no relevent financial or advisory relationships with corporate organizations related to this activity.

Click here to download the references for this educational activity.

Accreditation Statement

The Society of Hospital Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Statement

The Society of Hospital Medicine designates this activity for a maximum of 2 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 2 MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

Available Credit

  • 2.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
  • 2.00 Non-physician

Price

Member cost:
$0.00
Your cost:
$45.00
Please login or register to take this course.

The following is an interactive educational module designed to help you gauge your basic knowledge of the topic and then direct you to areas you may need to focus on. It consists of 3 sections: an unaccredited pre-test, a study program, and a CME post-test. All 3 sections must be completed to receive CME credit.

Click START to begin.