- Contact the CSS clinical coordinator to obtain information about the case, clarify the reason for consultation, and the people who should be involved in the consultation.
- Clarify any questions with the consultee prior to meeting with the patient; discuss with the consultee whether they can/should be present during the assessment of the patient
- Arrange a time and place for the consultation. Whenever possible this should be in the usual clinical setting where the referring clinician sees the patient.
- Meet with the patient and/or clinician to collect information.
- Follow the guidelines for the cultural formulation to make certain all pertinent information is collected.
- Make certain to determine the patient’s ethnocultural and linguistic background.
- Obtain informed consent from the patient for the evaluation study (This allows us to assess their symptomatology, satisfaction with the consultation process, and health care utilization.)
- After reviewing the information and discussing the case with the clinical coordinator or one of the co-directors of the service, contact the consultee to give initial recommendations. This can be done in person, by telephone or in a brief letter but in any case, a copy of the CCS Consultation Recommendations Form should be sent immediately to the CCS.
- Prepare a comprehensive cultural formulation of the case.
- Present this formulation at the clinical rounds of the CSS.
- Based on discussion at that meeting, prepare a final version of the cultural formulation
- Submit the final report and your invoice for billing.