Inpatient Consultation
Inpatient consults are generated electronically through CPRS. Upon initiating a consult, call the inpatient ID consult fellow (x40270 or pager 5-5848). This will ensure clear communication of issues and questions as well as possible immediate recommendations for empiric therapy and additional diagnostic testing. All consults are seen within 24 hours. If patients are unstable, they are evaluated urgently (please call the ID consult fellow immediately in this situation). Some issues call for mandatory infectious disease consultation, such as positive blood cultures for Staphylococcus aureus.
Antimicrobial Stewardship
The ID section is actively involved in preventing the development of resistant pathogens. To that end, empiric antimicrobial regimens are selected based on susceptibilities of current hospital flora (see antibiograms and VA GLA guidelines). Tailoring of antimicrobial regimens as soon as culture results become available is essential in this endeavor and the ID consult service is available for assistance in this matter. Appropriate isolation of individuals with highly resistant organisms is also a part of this approach and is supervised by Infection Control.
Outpatient Antimicrobial Treatment (OPAT)
The OPAT Program at VA GLA provides full service care for patients receiving IV antibiotics on an outpatient basis. This includes evaluation of inpatients and outpatients from both VA West Los Angeles and non-VA hospitals, choosing an appropriate antimicrobial regimen, arranging for intravenous access, coordination of home care services, monitoring of patients, assessment of laboratory values and regular clinical evaluation of patients receiving OPAT. Visit the OPAT page for more details.
Outpatient Clinics
Outpatient consults can be generated through CPRS. There are 5 clinics per week run by the infectious diseases (ID) section:
- Monday 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM (LAOCC): ID and Immunodeficiency (HIV)
- Tuesday 1:00 PM - 4:30 PM (WLA): Immunodeficiency
- Wednesday 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM (Sepulveda): ID and Immunodeficiency
- Friday 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM (WLA): ID and Immunodeficiency
- Friday 1:00 PM - 4:30 PM (WLA): Hepatitis (in conjunction with GI section)
Housestaff Education
The faculty in the ID division is dedicated to teaching housestaff and ID fellows an evidence-based approach to the practice of infectious diseases. Housestaff may rotate through inpatient consult service as well as through the outpatient clinics described above. The third Friday of each month a core housestaff lecture is presented by one of the infectious diseases attendings. The second Friday of each month, morning report is conducted by one of the ID attendings. In addition, infectious disease case conference is held every Tuesday morning (8:30-10:00) at GLA, Cedars-Sinai or Olive View medical centers. Housestaff are encouraged to come as these conferences tend to be lively and very educational (contact Luis Basilio at x83763, Luis.Basilio@va.gov for a current schedule).
Fellowship Program
The Cedars-Sinai/UCLA Multicampus Program in Infectious Diseases is a subspecialty training program in clinical infectious disease and related clinical and basic science research. The program utilizes the clinical and laboratory resources of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and the Los Angeles County Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. These three facilities have a combined occupancy of over 1200 beds and care for a very diverse patient population providing trainees with exceptional clinical experience. Fellows identify a faculty mentor and complete a research project by the end of the 2-year program. There are excellent research opportunities available through the program faculty as well as other researchers at UCLA. A third fellowship year can be arranged by outstanding trainees interested in pursuing additional research experience. Interested candidates from the Cedars/VA residency program are strongly encouraged to apply.