Intake Procedures for Consults
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Residency Program Consultations
The point of contact is the chair of the Residency Program Consultation Committee. The chair will conduct an initial intake discussion with the individual wishing to consider the usefulness of a consult for their specific institution. The consultation must be approved by the SAEM President or Committee Board Liaison before a formal agreement is signed. A formal letter of agreement requesting a consultation from an institution should follow in writing. -
Other Consultations
The point of contact is the SAEM Executive Director (ED). The ED will conduct an initial intake discussion with the individual seeking the consultation and, in consultation with the SAEM President, will decide whether SAEM can provide the consultation and, if so, determine the appropriate committee to provide the consultation. The ED will discuss the consultation with the committee chair, who will coordinate the consultation using the guidelines outlined below.
Procedures/Criteria for Selection of Consultants
In general, two consultants will be selected for every consultation. Consultants should have the requisite expertise in the area related to the consultation and be members of SAEM. It is preferable that they be members of the consulting committee. The committee chair is responsible for ensuring that the consultants are selected in a fair and transparent manner, have the appropriate content expertise, complement each other appropriately and will represent the Society in a highly professional and responsible manner.
Ideally a list of available consultants will be presented to the client, who may choose their consultation team. At minimum, the client needs to review and pre-approve their engagement team.
A Senior Consultant, with final responsibility for delivering a consultation report in a timely manner, should be identified in advance. The Junior Consultant is responsible for writing the draft report.
Pre-consultation Information and Documents for Consultants
In general, the consultants and the parties requesting consultation should discuss and agree on key information and documents to be provided for review in advance of consultation. It is recognized that the documents required for effective consultation will vary greatly from institution to institution, and from situation to situation. Information should be provided to the consultants at least two weeks in advance of the consultation. It is highly important that there is documentation of the client’s expectations in advance of the consultation.
Scheduling
The Senior Consultant is responsible for contacting the client and scheduling the consultation visit in a timely manner that is responsive to the client’s needs. The scheduling timeline should provide adequate time for the client to provide necessary documentation in advance
Travel Arrangements
Travel arrangements are the responsibility of the consultants unless otherwise specified by the client. Standard coach airfare is standard practice for consultant airfares. Local arrangements, including ground transportation, hotel accommodations, and meals, should be suggested by the client. Unless otherwise specified by the client or SAEM, the consultants will pay their travel expenses and submit receipts for reimbursement.
Fees and Reimbursements
The total cost for most consultations is $4500 plus travel and local expenses for the consultants. This amount includes a $1500 honorarium for each consultant and a $1500 administrative fee to offset SAEM’s expenses and administrative time devoted to the coordinating the consultation. For consultations requiring more than 2 days, the additional charge is $2500 per day: a $1000 honorarium per consultant and a $500 administrative fee. For consultations requiring different configurations of consultants and time frames, fee structures will be individually negotiated between the consulting party and the SAEM committee chair, with approval required from the Board.
Consultants will provide receipts for expenses (i.e. airfare, parking and meals) to SAEM, who will reimburse consultants for expenses and honorarium once a report has been provide to the client. Following the site visit and receipt of expenses, SAEM will bill the requesting institution the appropriate fee for honoraria and expenses.
Consultation Reports
- Responsibilities in drafting reports: The designated Junior Consultant shall undertake the responsibility for drafting the written consultation report. The Senior Consultant will be responsible for review, comment, and suggested revision of the draft report. A draft of the written report will be provided to the requesting party for comment when both consultants have arrived at a near final draft. Following this comment, a final draft will be derived. For other areas of consultation, arrangements for drafting the report will be negotiated between the individual consultants. The time frame for delivering the report should be agreed upon in advance with the client. In general, the draft report should be delivered within two weeks.
- Routing of draft and final reports: The consultation report may be provided electronically or on SAEM stationary at the client’s preference, with mention within the text that the consultation represents the consulting SAEM committee. Following final input from all consultants and the requesting party, the final report shall be provided to the institution within four to six weeks. Copies of the final report will be provided to the client, both consultants, and to SAEM headquarters.
Post Consultation Survey and Follow-Up
Follow-up communication by the SAEM committee chair should take place six to twelve months following the consultation. The purpose of follow-up is to assess long term satisfaction, effectiveness, and impact of the consultation on the problems of the requesting institution. A short note reflecting this follow-up will be kept on file at SAEM along with the written consultation report.