Put Us In, Coach: The Case for Recognizing the Infectious Disease/Addiction Workforce

To the Editor—We read with excitement the recent publication by Bolduc et al [1] on promoting HIV syndemic care in medical training to inspire and recruit trainees and bolster infectious diseases (ID) workforce needs. The intersection of viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted infections, injection-related invasive infections, and substance use among people living with or at risk for HIV continues to disproportionately burden certain populations. Management increasingly falls on ID clinicians in varied settings—hospitals, clinics, jails, prisons, streets, and syringe services programs. A syndemic approach is central to the national HIV elimination strategy [2]. Although substance use is the lynchpin of this syndemic, many providers are uncomfortable managing substance use and discussing harm reduction. In 2020, Serota et al [3] published a call to action for a new ID subspecialty that addresses its intersection with substance use. Since then, a growing number of ID providers and trainees are drawn to this field, marked by an influx of ID fellowship applicants citing interest in substance use care and research.