A proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that would cap payments for more than 200 physician services at outpatient prospective payment system or ambulatory surgery center rates would threaten patient access to optimal, cost-effective health care, according to the Large Urology Group Practice Association.
Outcomes following salvage radiation therapy after recurrent prostate cancer in a racially mixed cohort are no better when it’s started at a PSA level
Following suburethral mesh sling removal, half of patients had operations to treat incontinence, according to a study reported at the AUA annual meeting in San Diego.
The widely unpopular Medicare sustainable growth rate enacted under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 has threatened cuts to Medicare payments to physicians for years. This year there is hope that a solution to the perennial problem will be enacted into law.
Regular use of aspirin in the year before a diagnosis of stage I-III prostate cancer is associated with a reduction in prostate cancer-specific mortality, say Irish researchers.
African-American men are more influenced by convenience than are Caucasian men in their choice of treatment for early-stage prostate cancer, according to a recent study.
New therapies that are extending survival of men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer may also be contributing to an increasing trend for the development of non-osseous metastatic disease in these patients, according to a recent study.
Three different procedures to treat stress urinary incontinence led to high rates of recurrence-free outcomes at 5 years, and the choice of retreatment of SUI varied according to the initial procedure, long-term follow-up in two randomized trials showed.
Need for a repeat voiding trial after midurethral sling surgery does not increase the likelihood of a suboptimal outcome and may even predict a better long-term result, say researchers from the Urinary Incontinence Treatment Network.
Stress-incontinent women whose urinary urgency incontinence worsens following a sling procedure are a heterogeneous group, according to research presented at the AUA annual meeting in San Diego.
A recently developed instrument may improve the adjustment capabilities of a magnetic coupling system being investigated for use in laparoscopic procedures.
Researchers say they’re seeing positive results in early analysis of an adaptive optical element they have developed to increase the flexibility of surgical lasers in the treatment of upper urinary tract disorders.
A new survey of urologic surgeons from around the world found that an overwhelming majority believes simulation-based training for robot-assisted surgery should be a mandatory part of their surgical programs.
Optimizing outcomes using focal tumor ablation techniques depends on acquiring a better understanding of the tissue effects of these technologies, according to a recent study.
Researchers say a cooling device can reduce local inflammation and shorten time to continence-and even prevent permanent incontinence-in patients who undergo robot-assisted radical prostatectomy.
Insufficient estrogen levels in men may be at least partially to blame for symptoms that are often attributed to hypogonadism, according to a recently published study.
In an attempt to clarify what it calls conflicting guideline statements on prostate cancer screening from various organizations, the Large Urology Group Practice Association has issued its own position on the use of the PSA test as a screening tool.
The FDA has authorized the marketing of the UroLift system, the first permanent implant to relieve low or blocked urine flow in men aged 50 years and older with BPH.
Even though there’s been no change in the rules, we decided it was time to review the global rules and shed some light on two key questions about global: when to charge for an additional service and when not to charge for an additional service.
In this case, the patient tried to keep the observing urologist in the case as another source of payment by claiming a physician-patient relationship existed, thus establishing he had a legal duty to ensure the care was within the accepted standard.
In this article, I examine the importance of understanding the “cost” side as urology practices prepare to face a changing landscape of reimbursement systems.
Some urologists are seeing more younger men for erectile dysfunction than they have in the past, the reasons for which appear to be multi-factorial.
Two California compounding pharmacies have announced voluntary recalls of testosterone products.
The starting point in any life insurance planning exercise is deciding on the amount and type of coverage needed.
For the first time since the Medicare fee schedule crisis began after the sustainable growth rate formula was included in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, there is realistic hope that Congress will reform the way Medicare physicians are paid for their services.
Cook Medical has introduced LithAssist, a new device aimed at simplifying percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) procedures.
Houston-based Texas Children’s Hospital has opened a new pediatric stone clinic to provide comprehensive care for children and adolescents with kidney stones.
A recent study has linked genetic mutations to an increased risk of developing prostate cancer.
Even as the debate over the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s grade D recommendation for PSA screening continues, patients made their feelings clear about the recommendation in a recent survey.
The current system of reporting complications paints an unclear picture of the safety of robotic surgery, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, who suggest that robot-related complications may be under-reported.