Re: The subspecialty of adult infectious diseases

It was a pleasure to read Dr Chow’s perspective on the subspecialty of adult infectious diseases in British Columbia [BCMJ 2022;64:155-159]. I met him as a trainee in 1986 and I can attest to the fact that he is one of the founding fathers of our specialty in Canada and a mentor to many of us.

In his Table 2, I would like to point out an omission to his summary of the geographic distribution of adult infectious diseases services in BC. I am the medical director of the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre in downtown Vancouver. Our three physicians and three nurses (and other support staff) are dedicated to the development and evaluation of systems of care for inner-city residents living with HIV, HCV, and other chronic medical conditions, including cellulitis, endocarditis, and osteomyelitis, to name a few. We offer services in both French and English. We also have a novel “community pop-up clinic” model, conducted once a week at selected single-room-occupancy buildings in the inner city, interacting with men and women (many with untreated HIV and/or HCV infection) who are often disengaged from care.

Our team congratulates the BC Medical Journal for highlighting the importance of the infectious diseases community in our province. Following in the footsteps of Dr Chow’s pioneering work to develop our specialty, it is a privilege to have developed our centre to serve the most vulnerable among us.
—Brian Conway, MD, FRCPC
Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre

This letter was submitted in response to “The subspecialty of adult infectious diseases in British Columbia: A personal perspective.”

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Brian Conway, MD, FRCPC. Re: The subspecialty of adult infectious diseases. BCMJ, Vol. 64, No. 6, July, August, 2022, Page(s) 247 - Letters.



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