Two new studies shed light on recent trends in prostate cancer screening.One study found that prostate cancer screening in men older than 74 years of age is overused, while another documented a decline in prostate and other preventive cancer screenings over the last 10 years, possibly due to disagreement over current screening guidelines.
Patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer who undergo robot-assisted radical cystectomy may experience less blood loss and shorter hospital stays than those undergoing open cystectomy, results of a new randomized study indicate.
If least costly alternative (LCA) policies for certain prostate cancer drugs had not been rescinded in 2010, Medicare expenditures would have been reduced by more than $33 million over 1 year, a new government report suggests.
In May 2012, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended against PSA testing in all men based upon a flawed analysis that overestimated the harms and underestimated the benefits of testing (Ann Intern Med 2012; 157:137-8).
After dozens of false starts and temporary "fixes," policymakers and pundits predict that in 2013, Congress will finally resolve many of the issues causing instability and uncertainty in the urologic community.
Medical expulsive therapy for the initial management of uncomplicated acute renal colic, with eventual uretereoscopy if needed, is associated with less resource utilization and lower 6-week costs than early surgery, say researchers from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Despite the continuing pressure in Washington to slash federal spending, efforts are under way to prevent cuts, and to even support increases, in graduate medical education funding in order to prevent serious shortages of physicians at a time when increased numbers of patients will be seeking care.
Drugs and devices in the pipeline from Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Nymox Pharmaceutical Corp., Palatin Technologies, Inc., ProUroCare Medical Inc., Bioniche Life Sciences Inc., Tengion Inc., Aeterna Zentaris Inc., and Can-Fite BioPharma.
Urologists discuss the treatments that have most affected their practices.
Sifting through the data that came out of Urology Times' recently released "State of the Specialty" survey, it's clear that the issues most concerning to urologists relate to the business side of practicing medicine.
In this interview, Lora Plaskon, MD, MS, discusses her all-female urology/urogynecology practice's origins, how it differs from mixed-gender practices, and how her unique model fits into today's economy.
Depending on your approach, pursuit of higher yield bonds may invite more risk, some of which may be hard to see or understand.
The latest products and services from Coloplast, Galt Medical (Theragenics Corp.), the Medical Group Management Association, SullivanLuallin, Accuray Inc., the Simon Foundation for Continence, Varian Medical Systems, FAIR Health, Patient Point, UroMed, Cure Medical, and Three Ten LLC.
In May 2012, the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommended against PSA testing in all men based upon a flawed analysis that overestimated the harms and underestimated the benefits of testing.
Exposure to a desert environment increases lithogenic risk, but the effect is the result of unanticipated changes in excretion of lithogenic material, according to a recent study.
One of the elements in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that may affect urologists is the Physician Payment Sunshine Provision, which requires drug and medical device manufacturers to publicly report gifts and payments made to physicians and teaching hospitals beginning in 2013.
Insertion of a ureteral access sheath during retrograde intra-renal surgery may induce severe ureteric injuries, according to a prospective analysis of 136 patients undergoing procedures using ureteral access sheaths.
Medicare recently made it clear that you should be able to charge for procedures performed on two separate lesions, which are not contiguous, in the same organ.
Intradetrusor injections of onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) do not significantly reduce urinary frequency in patients with refractory overactive bladder secondary to BPH, results from a two-institution, placebo-controlled study indicate.
If sacral neuromodulation has failed for your patient, look beyond the problem of lead position. Abnormal impedances are common and are frequently associated with revision, say researchers from Cleveland Clinic.
Findings from a retrospective review of patients undergoing single-stage bulbar urethroplasty with buccal mucosa suggest that neither dorsal nor ventral onlay of the graft is inherently superior.
Hospital volume is a key predictor of survival for patients with urothelial bladder cancer undergoing radical cystectomy and has a greater impact than surgeon volume, findings from a retrospective analysis suggest.
In patients with stage pT1 urothelial bladder cancer, intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin (TheraCys, TICE BCG) combined with electromotive mitomycin-C produces higher remission rates and longer remission times than BCG alone, Italian researchers reported.
Minimally invasive retroperitoneal lymph node dissection in testicular cancer reduces length of stay while obtaining a perioperative safety profile comparable to that seen with the open procedure, researchers from the University of California, San Diego Health System reported.
More than 84% of patients with interstitial cystitis (IC) have tried complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies, including dietary changes and physical therapy, and 55% report that their physicians have recommended CAM, according to findings from a recently published survey.
The FDA has approved a broader indication for the advanced prostate cancer treatment abiraterone acetate (ZYTIGA).
The majority of patients undergoing robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy surgery for localized prostate cancer do not regret their treatment decision, according to a recent study.
Percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) and sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) are safe and efficacious for the treatment of overactive bladder, although the former is much more cost effective, results of a recent study indicate.
Nearly all U.S. urology offices (95.4%) still accept Medicare and two-thirds accept Medicaid, according to a recent report that suggests acceptance rates among all medical offices may be declining.Overall, 83.6% of U.S. medical offices accept Medicare and 67% accept Medicaid, the study found.