Practice Management

"There is a definite shortage, so not just increasing the diversity, but we have to increase the work force itself," says Sumit Saini, MD

"For the first 3 years that people join us, there's a whole program set up for them to help assimilate them into the culture, get them the resources that they need, make sure that they're meeting their benchmarks and goals," says Anne M. Suskind, MD, MS, FACS, FPMRS.

"The future of quality measurement is multiple different inputs to give us the best picture possible of the care we provide," says Timothy D. Lyon, MD, FACS.

"All participants in the process must recognize that telehealth is a resource for rendering health care and not a different type of practicing medicine," writes Richard Cahill, JD.

"Based on the definitions from the ASA and coverage rules for Medicare, the use of nitrous oxide for urology procedures is a noncovered service," write Jonathan Rubenstein, MD, and Mark Painter.

As 2023 comes to a close, we revisit some of this year’s top content on coding in urology.

Expert advice for physicians seeking new coverage.

“I love helping people to connect with their passions and to find and create the lives that they wish to create, both within the field of medicine and urology,” says Anne M. Suskind, MD, MS, FACS, FPMRS.

“Physician recipients of peer support reported improved well-being, decreased negative emotions and stigma, and perceived positive cultural changes within their departments,” the authors wrote.

The median number of harms criteria reported in RCTs in urology increased from 5.3 in 2012 to 7.2 in 2020.

The survey highlights the challenges and opportunities physicians encounter in hospital- and corporate-owned settings.

Leading West Michigan practice now affiliated with nation’s largest urological healthcare management company

“Private equity allows an opportunity to provide improved scale with large organization,” says Scott B. Sellinger, MD, FACS.

"The conversion factor is slated to undergo a reduction of approximately 3.37% for 2024, decreasing from $33.89 in 2023 to $32.74," write Jonathan Rubenstein, MD, and Mark Painter.

Technology may save health care professionals’ time and help reduce burnout.

"As more patients become interested in remote patient monitoring and case studies continue to show improved patient outcomes, practices must seek ways to integrate these tools into their workflows," writes Lucienne Marie Ide, MD, PhD.

Although traditional payment and communication methods remain relevant, the survey highlights a paradigm shift in patients' billing expectations overall.

"The end of the year presents a good opportunity to regroup, close out 2023 in the strongest position possible, and ready yourself for 2024," writes Jeff Witz, CFP.

AI scribe solutions are one of the easiest technologies to deploy into existing workflows, writes Vadim Khazan.

“As private equity firms increasingly engage in urology, key stakeholders, including policymakers and urologists, need to ensure that the quality of care is not compromised with the structural changes implemented after acquisition," write the authors.

“In fact, we actually found that there were more lawsuits that were directed at physicians who did not recommend active surveillance when it was an appropriate treatment strategy,” says Timothy J. Daskivich, MD, MSHPM.

"Many of the new codes are CPT Category III codes, which will require additional research for both coverage and payment rates, especially with private payers," write Jonathan Rubenstein, MD, and Mark Painter.

Patients fear their personal data could be compromised, with 63% concerned increasing use of artificial intelligence will put their health information at risk.

"The main thing that we were surprised by was that at this point in time, ChatGPT couldn't give us consistent results," says Athena Barrett.

Artificial intelligence can help curate, decipher, and contextualize the enormous and growing amount of digital data that now comprises a patient’s electronic health record, writes Nele Jessel, MD.

In this installment, Christopher E. Ramsey, MD, FACS, and Rachel Vann, MSN, RN, NP-C, highlight Tennessee Urology, an affiliate of United Urology Group.

"Make the proper beneficiary designation adjustments when warranted and review these annually with your adviser to ensure they remain up-to-date and make financial sense given your current situation," writes Jeff Witz, CFP.

"The question of when a surgeon should retire has been the subject of debate for decades," writes Raj S. Pruthi, MD.

"ICD-10-CM coding denials have been increasing across the country as payers continue to refine edits," write Jonathan Rubenstein, MD, and Mark Painter.