Practice Management

"We identified that in our site, we were ordering almost 1600 cystoscopy packs. A lot of the materials that were in those packages were unnecessary for an outpatient procedure," says Malissa Williams.

"It sounds so cheesy to just say it, but if you're really feeling grateful, you can't feel anything of a lower vibration or frequency at the same time," says Anne M. Suskind, MD, MS, FACS, FPMRS.

"I think it's important to try to mix up your visits with patients that you think might be a little shorter, like a vasectomy consult, vs a new patient visit for infertility that may take a little bit longer, so that you don't run over time," says Helen L. Bernie, DO, MPH.

"Urologists may wish to review their policies for patient portal, responding to requests for records, and supporting the concept of a shared electronic record," writes Robert A. Dowling, MD.

"Male residents do about 100 more cases over the 4 years of urology-specific training than female residents, which is a significant difference," says Kathryn Marchetti, MD.

Health care practitioners utilizing telemedicine, regardless of the modality, must be cognizant of the many pitfalls of violating the rules regulating patient confidentiality as established by federal and state privacy laws.

"There's...this concept of the virtualist; truly, the virtual urologist who has a potentially full-time telehealth practice but geared toward really delivering care, and these positions exist," says Kara L. Watts, MD.

"As investigational therapies and devices make their way through the approval process and into practice, urologists should stay abreast of early clinical results and may look to publicly available information for costs and utilization trends," writes Robert A. Dowling, MD.

Independent health care practices rely on online ratings and reviews to attract new patients and establish themselves as leading, recognizable providers in their community.

Prior authorizations for medical care will become quicker and easier, while saving money, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

"I probably see about 20% of my patients a week via telemedicine right now," says Helen L. Bernie, DO, MPH.

"The world has a way of sending you the same message until you get it, and burnout is the same way. It's going to keep coming at you until you acknowledge it," says Anne M. Suskind, MD, MS, FACS, FPMRS.

"At MIU, we host many ancillary services, including complete ultrasound services, UroCuff, urodynamics, PTNS [percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation], full laboratory and pathology services, Xofigo [radium-223]," says Jason M. Hafron, MD.

According to statistics provided by the AUA, 385 medical students and other applicants were matched across 148 urology residency training programs nationwide.

"From a physician standpoint, [telemedicine] allows you to have a greater reach of patients that you can help, that you can educate, that you can help improve their quality of life," says Helen L. Bernie, DO, MPH.

“To the point where a child would come in and request to see a cartoon character was really quite interesting for me,” says Patrina H. Y. Caldwell, BMed, FRACP, PhD.

"Continuing certification is not merely a bureaucratic process; it is a commitment to staying abreast of advancements in urology and maintaining competencies," writes J. Stuart Wolf Jr, MD, FACS.

The investigators at DSUI developed 4 recommended actions for urologists based on the findings from the survey: drive multidisciplinary collaboration, leverage technology excellence, bridge patient-urologist perspectives, and foster collaboration with general practitioners.

"I think that at any point, everyone is somewhere on that spectrum," says Anne M. Suskind, MD, MS, FACS, FPMRS.

"Creating a year-to-year plan can ensure you are staying on track to accomplish your short-term and long-term goals," writes Jeff Witz, CFP.

There are several new CPT codes for 2024, including Category III codes for tibial nerve stimulation and other changes to codes in the treatment of urinary incontinence.

“We want to serve as role models for pre-med students to come into the urology field [and] to explore what urology is, because there is a great need not only in general for urologists, but for Hispanic urologists. ,” says Pedro P. Maria, DO.

"There's just a tremendous opportunity for telehealth and being able to increase delivery to patients in these areas or at least reduce their amount of travel time to get to see a urologist based on where they live," says Kara L. Watts, MD.

"Without interoperability, electronic insurance billing would be nearly impossible. Insurance payers, healthcare providers and claim clearinghouses all rely on interoperability at their core," writes Lisa Taylor.

"Specialty providers can take three steps now to succeed with MIPS while prioritizing caring for their patients," writes Wayne Singer.

"I think that, across industries, AI is going to provide a great benefit to our day-to-day practice," says Michael Karellas, MD.

"The mental toll of excessive screen time is a pressing concern in health care," writes Neil Baum, MD.

"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.