Infectious Disease Doctors Bring Value to Health Systems

How can the infectious diseases physician participate in the healthcare delivery and payment reform changes that are occurring?  I will be speaking on this topic as it relates to healthsystems and the ID Clinician at the Beckers 5th Annual Hospital Conference in Chicago on May 17.    I will be emphasizing the "product line" we bring to health systems and how using your ID Clinicians to effectively manage and lead that product line will add real value to a health system.  

The products the ID Service line include clinical care, antimicrobial stewardship, infection prevention, microbiology laboratory oversight, employee health and resource management.   Effectively managing and leading the services will provide solutions for systems in important areas of care including quality, cost, outcomes, readmission and rescue.

The ID Clinician has been undervalued in our healthcare system because typically the greatest value was given to those who admitted and brought cases to a hospital or health system.  Those clinicians who limited hospitalization, reduced cost, and reduced risk were not seen as providing value in a service driven business model.  As the model changes toward value, we the ID Clinicians, need to lead this change.