Consultant and discuss the case either in person or by telephone , communicate by secure text , or initiate consult by preapproved protocols as determined by the Department / Section . Staff may be asked to electronically enter a requesting Member ’ s verbal order and call the consultant ’ s office or answering service , but the requesting Member retains the responsibility for personally conveying the following information to the Consultant :
i . the clinical condition of the patient and the problems to be addressed by the consultation ;
ii . the expected level of involvement of the consultant ; iii . the urgency of the consultation .
2 . The Attending Member will remain fully responsible for the patient until the Consultant is personally contacted and agrees to accept specific responsibilities for the patient ’ s care . The involvement of Consultants and their specific responsibilities will be clearly communicated to Hospital staff by the Attending Member .
3 . Unless another time period is mutually agreed upon by the requesting Member and the Consultant ( such an agreement should be documented in the medical record by the requesting Member ), the Consultant will interview and examine the patient and produce a consultation report preferably the same day but no later than 24-hours following the case discussion and verbal request from the requesting Member for nonurgent / non-emergent care . Or , if prudent for patient care , the Consultant shall examine the patient within six ( 6 ) hours , or sooner as requested , of the case discussion and verbal request from the requesting Member for an urgent / emergent consultation .
4 . Consultation reports must be directly entered into the electronic medical record in a timely manner to ensure continuity of care . Hand-written and scanned documents will not be allowed ( electronic “ down-time ” procedures excepted ).
5 . Consultants will make rounds and update progress notes depending on the clinical necessity . Clinical necessity will be determined in conjunction with the primary team . Any recommended orders , not placed by the consultant , will be communicated to the primary team in a timely fashion . Consultants may be asked to help place urgent orders when necessary to avoid a delay in care and may be asked to help arrange follow-up with their own practice , if appropriate .
If there is disagreement between the primary team and consultant regarding the degree of involvement , it is expected that the consultant will continue to
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