This column marks the first appearance of a new section in our Journal: “Novel Applications for Hospital Epidemiology.” Of course, given the diversity and sophistication of our readers, the editors recognize that few ideas will reach us that have not passed through-and been shaped by- many of you. Thus, applications novel to us may be routine for you. Our hope, though, is that, at least occasionally, we can trigger the “Aha!” response in enough of our colleagues that none will begrudge us the ink and paper.

For many of us, our principle professional orientation has been toward infectious/communicable diseases or microbiology; our focus has been infection control. However, the hospital environment in which we work has been undergoing dramatic evolution in recent years. Increasingly, governmental and private third-party payers scrutinize every admission and treatment decision, demand rigorous quality assurance programs, compile and release mortality and other statistics, and insist on the central reporting of physician quality issues. Scrutiny by private and public accrediting agencies is similarly intensifying. Administrators must meet all these demands in an era of shrinking reimbursements and fierce economic competition.