NOTE: This module is currently in the process of being updated and recertified, and so does not currently offer CME. A fully updated module eligible for CME is expected to be available Spring 2024.

Hugo Q. Cheng, MD

Based on the original module, The Role of the Medical Consultant, by Hugo Q. Cheng, MD and Leonard Feldman, MD, FACP, SFHM

If you are a Program Director and would like to grant access to your trainees, please reach out to education@hospitalmedicine.org for an academic access code.

Summary

Medical consultation is an important clinical responsibility 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 informal “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. No prerequisites required.

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 and written consultation reports.
5. Model professional behavior for medical consultants.

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 Designation

The Society of Hospital Medicine designates this activity for a maximum of 2.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM. 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 2.00 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.

Release Date: October 19, 2021                      Expiration Date: October 19, 2024 

Estimated time to complete: 2 hours

Conflict of Interest Disclosure Policy

In accordance with the ACCME Standards for Commercial Support, SHM requires that individuals in a position to control the content of an educational activity disclose all relevant financial relationships with any commercial interest. SHM mitigates all conflicts of interest to ensure independence, objectivity, balance, and scientific rigor in all its educational programs. All relevant financial relationships shall be disclosed to participants prior to the start of the activity.

Furthermore, SHM seeks to verify that all scientific research referred to, reported, or used in a continuing medical education (CME) activity conforms to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis. SHM is committed to providing its learners with high-quality CME activities that promote improvements in healthcare and not those of a commercial interest.

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 several sections: a pre-test, a study program, a post-test, and a CME evaluation. All sections must be completed to receive CME credit.