title: Parameters of consultee satisfaction with inpatient academic psychiatric consultation services: a multicenter study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Consultation-liaison psychiatrists commonly perceive consultee satisfaction as a useful global measure of consultation-liaison service performance. No tool exists to measure consultee satisfaction. A single-site study at Columbia University Medical Center elicited ratings of parameters importantly contributing to consultee satisfaction within consultation-liaison services.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to assess the generalizability of the rating of importance of these parameters in a larger, multicenter sample.
  
  
  METHODS
  From October 2013 to January 2014, a confidential and voluntary Web-based survey was distributed to 133 physicians at 7 academic centers in the United States asking them to rate the importance of 16 performance parameters (identified in the previous single-site study) in determining consultee satisfaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 87 recipients (65%) responded to the survey. Among all the 16 items, there was no significant difference between sites in ratings of item importance. Of the 16 parameters, 9 received a mean rating in the "important" to "very important" range. Three items, "completion of consultation within 24 hours of request," "understanding the core questions being asked," and "practical and helpful management suggestions for medical staff" were rated as the most important. Quickly managing behavioral problems, management suggestions for nursing staff, verbal communication of recommendations, providing diagnostic clarification, facilitating transfer to inpatient psychiatry, and providing follow-up consultation were other parameters that were highly valued by consultees.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found good generalizability across academic medical centers for ratings of parameters important for consultee satisfaction with consultation-liaison services, which can provide the basis for a consultee satisfaction measurement tool.
authors.affiliation: MetroHealth Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH. Electronic address: mxl555@case.edu.
authors.forename: Mallika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lavakumar
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Emily D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Gastelum
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Tse-Hwei
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Choo
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.
authors.forename: Jonathan S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Gerkin
authors.affiliation: University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA.
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kahn
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Seonjoo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.
authors.forename: Stephen E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Nicolson
authors.affiliation: Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Lisa J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Rosenthal
authors.affiliation: Grady Memorial Hospital and Emory University, Atlanta, GA.
authors.forename: Ann C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.affiliation: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Marie B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Tobin
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Ralph N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Wharton
authors.affiliation: Columbia University, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Peter A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Shapiro
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D011570:Psychiatry; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires