title: Managed care and the infectious diseases specialist.
abstract: There is growing demand to contain health care costs and to reassess the value of medical services. The traditional hospital, academic, and research roles of the infectious disease (ID) specialist are threatened, yet there is an increasing need for expertise because of growing antimicrobial resistance and emerging pathogens. Opportunities exist to develop and expand services for the care of patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus and in infection control, epidemiology, outcomes research, outpatient intravenous therapy, and resource management. It is important for ID physicians to appreciate the principles involved in managed care and the areas in which ID services can be valuable. To be effective, physicians need to know about tools such as practice guidelines, physician profiling, outcomes monitoring, computerized information management, risk sharing, networking, and marketing, as well as related legal issues. With a positive attitude toward learning, application, and leadership, ID physicians can redefine their role and expand their services through managed care.
authors.affiliation: Infections Limited, P.S., University of Washington, Tacoma 98405, USA.
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Tice
authors.forename: T G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Slama
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Berman
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Braun
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cherney
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reid-Hatton
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Joseph
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lawton
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Massanari
authors.forename: Z I
authors.initials: ZI
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Osheroff
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Poretz
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shalowitz
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Simmons
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wade
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Nolet
mesh_terms: D000553:Ambulatory Care; D016363:Antitrust Laws; D003140:Communicable Disease Control; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000458:organization & administration; D017146:Models, Organizational; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D017149:Private Sector; D011786:Quality Control; D013038:Specialization; D000078329:Workforce