Practice Management

Urology-related FDA approvals from 2016 encompassed drugs and devices for prostate cancer, renal cell carcinoma, bladder cancer, stone disease, and more.

Other products discussed include an updated prostate tissue ablation device, a contrast agent for voiding ultrasonography, a bladder cancer test and more.

This article will discuss the concept of practice valuation and how to go from abstraction to dollars or how to make dollars and “cents” of the process of putting a dollar value on a urologic practice.

Each year, the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services publishes a summary of its activities and a work plan for the coming year. What follows is a summary of new topics in the FY2017 work plan that may be of interest to urologists.

Other pipeline developments discussed include an implantable device for OAB treatment, a subcutaneous hypogonadism treatment, efficacy results for an HPV drug, and the status of a device-based BPH treatment.

Robert A. Dowling, MD, summarizes key findings from the recent CMS report “National Health Spending: Faster Growth In 2015 As Coverage Expands and Utilization Increases."

"Those patients (and their caregivers) who take ownership of more aspects of their health care experience, including relevant and personalized information, will have better outcomes," writes Steven A. Kaplan, MD.

Other products discussed include a stent system for treating ureteral obstructions, a male infertility test, and more.

In this article, I outline what urologists should know about major provisions in the 2017 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and how it may impact their bottom line.

Here is a list of potential estate-planning mistakes you can help avoid with professional counseling.

Other pipeline developments discussed include a bladder cancer test, a male infertility assay, and the first oral dosage treatment for hypogonadism.

Other new products discussed in this article include a surgical training model, devices designed to improve prostate biopsy accuracy, an updated label and more.

In this article, the the most recent installment in an ongoing series, Robert A. Dowling, MD, summarizes his first impressions of the MACRA final rule and what it means for urologists.

As we approach the end of the year, take the necessary time to review your financial planning strategies. A lot can happen in a year.

"We strongly recommend that you obtain your practice QRUR regardless of your practice size and learn more about the report," write Ray Painter, MD, and Mark Painter.

Other pipeline developments discussed in this article include the initiation of an intravesical bladder cancer study, a gel treatment for ED that has met its primary endpoint, a patent awarded for the first rechargeable implantable SNM along with some other advancements.

"This is the step whereby practices can apply good, evidence-based, pathway-driven medicine to not only provide excellent outcomes for patients, but also be financially successful in the process," writes Henry Rosevear, MD.

It’s time to revisit billing for Medicare Part B drugs. A proposed demonstration project that every urologist should be aware of, a change in the “brown bag” rules since our last publication, and a continued loss of income by many offices are making the purchase and delivery of drugs less palatable for urology offices.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released the Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data: Part D Prescriber Public Use File for 2014 claims. Part of a broader effort to increase transparency about care in general, this dataset also gives very granular information about the prescribing patterns of providers and may be used by policy makers to further scrutinize the cost of prescription drugs in the United States.

In this "Money Matters" column, Joel M. Blau, CFP, and Ronald J. Paprocki, JD, CFP, CHBC, also discuss donor-advised funds.