A community mental health center's consultation service in a general hospital

A community mental health center operates a psychiatric consultation program as an integral part of the medical emergency service of a 550-bed general hospital. A major advantage of the system is that it allows the hospital to provide immediate comprehensive services--psychiatric as well as medical--to emergency patients. The consultation program also accepts referrals of hospitalized medical patients with apparent emotional problems and referrals of patients from such sources outside the hospital as pediatricians, clergymen, and other community agencies.