13,695
Infectious Disease Specialists
100%
Accepting patients
82%
Most common: MD
FindClarity lists 13,695 infectious disease specialists nationwide. 100% are currently accepting new patients. The most common credential is MD (82%). 69% accept Medicare.
Infectious disease (ID) specialists diagnose and treat complex infections caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. They manage conditions like HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, osteomyelitis (bone infections), endocarditis (heart valve infections), antibiotic-resistant infections like MRSA, and post-surgical infections that are not responding to initial treatment.
After medical school, ID specialists complete a three-year internal medicine residency followed by a two-year infectious disease fellowship. Their training emphasizes microbiology, antibiotic pharmacology, infection control, and tropical medicine. They serve as consultants to other physicians, helping select the right antibiotic regimen and duration for difficult infections.
Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest public health challenges of this century. ID specialists are key to antibiotic stewardship, ensuring the right drug is used at the right dose for the right duration. This protects both individual patients and the broader community from resistance.
See an infectious disease specialist for infections that are not responding to standard antibiotics, HIV management, hepatitis B or C treatment, fever of unknown origin, infections after surgery or implant placement, bone or joint infections, infections in immunocompromised patients (cancer, transplant, HIV), travel-related infections, and tick-borne diseases like Lyme disease that are complicated or atypical.
The ID specialist will review your infection history, lab results (cultures, sensitivity reports), imaging, and current antibiotics. They may order additional specialized testing (fungal cultures, PCR tests, serologies). The consultation often focuses on optimizing your antibiotic regimen, recommending the narrowest effective treatment for the shortest appropriate duration. For chronic conditions like HIV, they will establish a long-term management plan.
Office visit copay: $30-75 · Blood cultures: $100-300 · HIV viral load test: $100-400 · IV antibiotic therapy: $200-500/day
Most infections resolve with standard treatment from your PCP or surgeon. An ID specialist is called when infections fail to improve after appropriate antibiotics, when the infecting organism is resistant to common drugs, when the infection involves prosthetic material (joint replacements, heart valves), or when the diagnosis is unclear despite workup. Your doctor will typically initiate the referral.
Modern HIV treatment uses antiretroviral therapy (ART), usually a single pill taken once daily that combines two or three medications. When taken consistently, ART reduces the virus to undetectable levels, meaning it cannot be transmitted to partners and does not progress to AIDS. People with HIV on effective treatment have near-normal life expectancy. Starting treatment early produces the best outcomes.
If you are traveling to areas with malaria, yellow fever, typhoid, or other endemic infections, a pre-travel consultation with an ID specialist or travel medicine clinic is worthwhile. They will review your itinerary and recommend vaccines, prophylactic medications, and precautions specific to your destination. Visit four to six weeks before departure to allow time for vaccines to take effect.
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ID consultations are covered as specialist visits. HIV medications (ART) are covered under pharmacy benefits, though copays vary. Many ART manufacturers offer copay assistance programs. The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program provides coverage for uninsured and underinsured patients. Long-term IV antibiotics administered at home through a PICC line are typically covered under home health benefits.