We have never seen so many changes in coding and billing for any service that would equal the changes we’ve seen for reporting multiple stones in the urinary system. Over the past 3 years, we’ve witnessed multiple opinions and differing payment results.
In this article, I will discuss additional opportunities for urologists to improve the safety of care in their own practices in the context of the National Quality Forum’s best practices.
For the desperate patient with severe symptoms and a contracted, inflamed bladder who has failed standard therapies, cyclosporine A can be an effective treatment and prevent or delay the need for cystectomy and/or urinary diversion.
Long-term cyclosporine A therapy may be an effective treatment option for refractory interstitial cystitis, say researchers from Brazil.
In cases involving a claim that a patient had an unnecessary operation where cancer was suspected but not found, the issues usually are a lack of informed consent and failure to further investigate the condition to get a definitive diagnosis.
Christopher Amling, MD, describes strategies to reduce skeletal-related morbidity, including lifestyle changes, calcium and vitamin D supplementation, and pharmacologic therapy.
An iodine-125 low-dose-rate brachytherapy boost outperformed dose-escalated external beam radiotherapy boost in achieving biochemical progression-free survival in men with unfavorable risk prostate cancer, according to results of a recent multicenter trial.
The major organizations representing urologists are continuing their push for congressional approval of legislation designed to reform the operations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which in May 2012 recommended against PSA-based screening for prostate cancer.
In his latest blog post, urologist Neal D. Shore, MD, discusses LUGPA's recent expansion to include independent practices of five or more physicians.
Results presented at the EAU Annual Congress bolster the Prolaris test’s efficacy in determining disease aggressiveness.
Penile transplant surgery, performed successfully for the first time in South Africa, is technically feasible and has potential clinical applications in the United States, according two leading U.S. urologists.
Other highly read UT articles this month include a large comparison of robotic and open RP, answers to your questions about coding for prostate biopsy, and several studies about risks for low and high T.
"I can’t believe what I’ve gotten myself into. Medicine has become, almost weekly, and certainly monthly and yearly, more and more bureaucratized," says one urologist.
A recent population-based analysis reveals lifestyle and health factors that appear to undermine male fertility.
The study shows a wide discrepancy between the least and most expensive ways to treat the common prostate condition.
A new testosterone nasal gel (Natesto) is safe and efficacious, according to phase III data presented at the Endocrine Society annual meeting in San Diego.
A handful of new studies reveal new information about risk factors for both low and high testosterone as well as the potential risks associated with each.
The AUA, Large Urology Group Practice Association (LUGPA), and American Association of Clinical Urologists (AACU) would like to see the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) revamp the methods it uses to develop recommendations on prostate cancer screening and other preventive care, and the three associations are now backing legislation that would do just that.
The FDA acted on recommendations from one of its advisory committees by requiring manufacturers of testosterone therapies to make label changes that restrict the drugs’ usage.
New, large-scale studies on active surveillance, IMRT complications, and robotic versus open prostatectomy were among the highlights of this year’s Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.
The review “represents the best available evidence for the morbidity and cost profile” of robot-assisted versus open radical prostatectomy, says one of the study’s authors.
One minute of a physician’s time could help determine how likely a urologic patient is to experience complications after an operation, say researchers from Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta.
The FDA has approved ceftazidime-avibactam (AVYCAZ) for two indications, including treatment of adults with complicated urinary tract infections who have limited or no alternative treatment options.
Uroplasty, Inc. announced that Cigna has written a positive coverage policy for percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation delivered via Uroplasty's Urgent PC neuromodulation system for treatment of overactive bladder and associated symptoms of urinary urgency, urinary frequency, and urge incontinence.
This video demonstrates one of the most simple and reliable urethroplasty techniques: excision and primary anastomosis of the urethra.
This video demonstrates creation of a definitive perineal urethrostomy for management of severe urethral strictures.
This video demonstrates buccal mucosa graft urethroplasty for lengthy bulbar urethral strictures that are not amenable to excision and primary anastomotic urethroplasty.
This video demonstrates a posterior urethroplasty for treatment of pelvic fracture urethral injury.
Multiparametric MRI of the prostate with subsequent targeted biopsy shows promise for improving the identification of men on active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer who require definitive treatment, according to researchers from the Vancouver Prostate Centre, Vancouver, BC.
Urologists with higher surgical volumes, especially in robotic procedures, are more likely to recommend immediate treatment than active surveillance in men with low-risk prostate cancer, according to a recent study.
