The first annual Medicare physician fee schedule rule in the post-sustainable growth rate era has been proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and includes several provisions of specific interest to urologists, including attention to certain services that are considered misvalued by the agency and some modifications to Stark law regulations.
A new public perspective on quality is emerging. Online rating sites, social media, and analysis of public datasets have begun to shape a larger perspective on quality, including the quality of health care institutions and providers. In this article, I will examine one of the latest examples-the “Surgeon Scorecard.”
In this "Coding Q&A" column, the Painters also offer suggestions on billing of 52265 (or 52260) when rescue treatment is instilled at the end of the procedure.
Joel M. Blau, CFP, and Ronald J. Paprocki, JD, CFP, CHBC, discuss the importance of qualified domestic relations order language in a divorce settlement, as well as what qualifies as a withdrawal from a retirement plan.
In this video, the investigators demonstrate a promising technique using multiphoton microscopy to find tubules containing sperm during microsurgical testis sperm extraction.
The prostatic urethral lift (PUL [UroLift, NeoTract, Inc.]) yields successful 3-year durability and superior rate of improvement of BPH symptoms compared to transurethral resection of the prostate, according to separate studies presented at the AUA annual meeting in New Orleans.
The association between testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and thrombotic risk in elderly men remains controversial. While the FDA has mandated that all approved testosterone products include warnings about a possible increase in cardiovascular, stroke, and venous blood clot risk, at least one study presented at the AUA annual meeting in New Orleans found no link between TRT and cardiovascular events.
Two federal bills, one recently passed by Congress and the other recently introduced in the House of Representatives, seek to address a common area of frustration among physicians: the federal government’s electric health records meaningful use requirements.
Given the current controversy, I thought it might be worth learning about the history of the American Board of Urology and maintenance of certification to better understand why the ABU finds it necessary for us to jump through the hoops the board has created.
This video describes and demonstrates two techniques for minimally invasive sperm retrieval appropriate for men with obstructive azoospermia.
In this round-up of new urology products and services, learn about the FDA approving an oral agent for HSDD, an app that helps men with erectile dysfunction, and more.
"Over the past 10 years, it’s been getting progressively more challenging to schedule certain tests and treatments because of insurance companies’ hoops that we have to go through," says one urologist.
In this installment of "Product Preview," also look for information on products in the pipeline for renal cell carcinoma and interstitial cystitis.
The management of BPH has had an interesting roller coaster ride over the past 25 years with new medicines, minimally invasive surgical therapies, and a host of novel surgical technologies, including lasers and bipolar electrosurgery.
A handheld transurethral therapy that delivers targeted sterile water vapor reduces lower urinary tract symptom severity in patients with BPH with no impact on sexual function.
After accounting for the risk of reclassification, carefully monitored men with favorable-risk prostate cancer who enroll in active surveillance and undergo delayed surgery are no more likely to demonstrate adverse features associated with 15-year prostate cancer-specific mortality than their counterparts who elect immediate curative treatment, say researchers from the Johns Hopkins University Brady Urological Institute, Baltimore.
After a median of 2 years in an active surveillance cohort being followed with multiparametric-magnetic resonance imaging and MRI-transrectal ultrasound fusion-guided biopsy (“targeted biopsy”), rates of biopsy-proven pathologic progression are similar among men with low-risk and intermediate-risk disease, say researchers from the National Institutes of Health.
Among men who are potent and have low-risk prostate cancer, focal cryotherapy appears to deliver similar oncologic control but with much better recovery of erectile function than a whole-gland approach, according to an analysis using data from the Cryo On-Line Data Registry.
Urologist Kevin R. Loughlin, MD, MBA, considers the immediate and long-term implications of the Supreme Court’s decision in King v. Burwell.
This slideshow breaks down data on American Board of Urology certification and recertification among respondents of the 2014 Urology Times State of the Specialty survey.
Here are the AUA 2015 take-home messages on sexual/dysfunction, presented by Landon Trost, MD.
Two recently published studies significantly contribute to current knowledge regarding testosterone therapy and cardiovascular health, says one expert urologist.
The cost of radiation therapy for prostate cancer in the United States varies substantially, and most of the variation is accounted for by factors that are not related to the patient or tumor, according to the results of a study published online in Journal of Oncology Practice (Aug. 11, 2015).
A newly identified subset of prostate cancer biomarkers could help explain why African-American men are more likely than European-American men to develop and die from prostate cancer.
Middle-aged and older men undergoing testosterone replacement therapy aren’t at increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), the results of a large comparative case-control analysis published online in Mayo Clinic Proceedings (July 15, 2015) suggest.
A new study reports no statistically significant increase in the risk of bladder cancer among patients treated with the diabetes drug pioglitazone (Actos), despite previous studies suggesting an association.
The three most commonly performed sling procedures exhibit long-term success, according to a recent observational study presented at the AUA annual meeting in New Orleans.
With conflicting data, should docetaxel be used up front in newly diagnosed metastatic disease?
Treatment with metformin plus a statin appears to pay huge dividends in high-risk prostate cancer patients, data from a large study show.
Docetaxel (Taxotere) added to standard hormone therapy extended mean survival by about 10 months, according to a recent large-scale study.
