"To figure out what is wrong with the patient you need to listen to their story."
Matthew Hall, M.D. moved to infectious disease from research for the individual aspect, as well as the medical diversity. Before medicine, Dr. Hall was involved in research but became drawn to the individual, personal aspect of care. In research, it was all about groups of patients and not the uniqueness of individuals, he said.
"Infectious disease doesn't have the boundaries like other areas of medicine," Dr. Hall said. "We are not limited to an organ like the kidneys or lungs. We are not limited to a setting like inpatient or outpatient and for the most part, we fix our patients' problems. We make a diagnosis, we make a treatment plan and the patient gets better."
Dr. Hall sees a wide variety of patients with complex or severe forms of infections like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Hepatitis C, ill-returned travelers and unique infections to central Wisconsin like babesiosis and blastomycosis.
Each individual case is important to Dr. Hall.
"Every patient must count and be important," he said. "You have to listen to their story. Sometimes they need help telling their story and that job is mine."
Dr. Hall completed his medical degree at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona in 1997. He completed his residency at Marshfield Medical Center in 2002 and completed fellowship training at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2004. He is board-certified in infectious disease and internal medicine.
In his free time, Dr. Hall enjoys bicycling and travels to races throughout the Midwest. He is married and has four children.