What to Expect in October's Emerging/Re-emerging Infections Section of Contagion&reg

Segment Description: Hermione Hurley, MD, MCBhB, physician with Denver Health & Hospital Authority, previews her October cover story for Contagion® on the intersection between the opioid epidemic and infectious disease.

Interview transcript: (modified slightly for readability)

Dr. Hurley: In this October issue of Contagion®, Drs. Rowan, Al-Tayyib, and myself speak about the role that the rising rates of infectious disease associated with substance use and particularly opioid and injection use in America. And we also talk about how it's a call to action for ID physicians. We think it has an important role to play in HIV and hepatitis C elimination. We try and give people hope that ID physicians are in a good position to help with these really important issues.

I think it can feel easy to be overburdened and have a lot to do in each particular session. I was concerned about that before I started incorporating infectious disease and substance use into my practice. But I've actually found that using both techniques, even in a single sitting, really has made my job more rewarding and it's really helped both my patients and clients alike. I want people to be hopeful to make a start, to make a start on an individual level and then move towards your system, move towards your state, move towards your nation, but be hopeful that we have an important role to play as providers.