This study provides criteria for the development of a consultation service in a new university general hospital. More than three hundred and fifty medical inpatients, both referrals and nonreferrals, were interviewed. Some of the interesting findings were: 1, Consultation patients could not be distinguished demographically; 2, In those patients receiving psychiatric consultation the co-existence of psychiatric and medical illness was common and not the exception; 3, Referrals were usually positively accepted by the patients, yet about one-third felt that consultation was of little or no help to them. One of the main problems still is identifying the patient needing consultation. Is this related to the unspoken question: for whom is the consultation and what is its goal?