title: Developing strategies for improving the diagnostic and management efficacy of medical consultations.
abstract: To determine the clinical effects of internists' consultations to surgeons and other non-internists, we studied a random sample of 250 consultations provided by the Yale Medical Service to patients admitted on non-medical services during 1978-1979. We found that consultations changed or confirmed a diagnosis in 82% (205), and changed or confirmed a management plan in 69% (172). We also found that the diagnostic or management effects could be enhanced by several features of the way the consultation is performed: rapid response to the request for consultation; frequent follow-up notes by the consulting medical team; and detailed specifications of dosage and duration in recommendations for pharmacologic therapy.
mesh_terms: D003933:Diagnosis; D007388:Internal Medicine; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000639:trends; D013812:Therapeutics