The Medicine Consultation Service primarily offers assistance to specialists, including surgeons, psychiatrists, and rehabilitation physicians, in the diagnosis and treatment of medical disease. We are typically consulted when a patient, hospitalized for a surgical or gynecologic procedure, or psychiatric illness or rehabilitation, develops a new medical problem or an exacerbation of an existing problem. The medical consultant assists the specialist with the care and management of the particular medical illness, in the setting of the primary cause for hospitalization. This service is staffed by board certified Internists. While the management of hypertension and diabetes along with pre-surgical evaluations typically dominate the service, we commonly evaluate worsening renal disease, electrolyte abnormalities and complications arising from hospitalization or medications.There are many related topics concerning consultative medicine, which include, but are not limited to:

• The physiologic response to surgery and anesthesia
• Disease-related and procedure-related risk
• Prophylactic therapy to prevent perioperative problems and postoperative medical complications
• Stopping and starting medications in the perioperative period
• Psychiatric disease, its pharmacologic treatment, and the effect on chronic medical problems