Differences between traditional medical consultation and comanagement

	Traditional medical consultation	Comanagement
Relationship between comanaging physician and surgeon	Ad hoc, informal	Formal, previously negotiated
Patient selection process	Only through referral by surgeon	Predetermined selection criteria
Comanaging physician's focus	Confined to issues identified by surgeon	Comanaging physician's discretion or based on previously negotiated agreement
Comanaging physician's scope of practice	Makes recommendations; limited order writing privileges	Broad scope of practice; can write most orders
Communication protocols	All communication routed through surgeon	Comanaging physician may directly communicate with patient and other providers

Courtesy of Hugo Cheng, MD and Kevin Bozic, MD, MBA.

Graphic 107524 Version 2.0