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In the wake of heated criticism about lengthy wait times for veterans’ care at Veterans Health Administration hospitals, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has moved to allow advanced-practice registered nurses to practice to their full authority without physician oversight and regardless of individual state law in VA facilities.

Our #LetsTalkMensHealth section offers clinical tips on the care of male patients. In 2016, articles in this section tackled a variety of subjects, including the Affordable Care Act, epigenetics and genetics, and BPH and prostate cancer prevention.

Administering sipuleucel-T (Provenge) before rather than after androgen deprivation therapy in men with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer appears to result in a more robust immunologic response, according to a recent study.

The practice of performing concurrent and overlapping surgeries in hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers across the nation has come under scrutiny by the Senate Finance Committee, and hospitals and surgeons are on notice that some practices that may have been commonplace in the past need to change.

In this interview, Sarah E. McAchran, MD, discusses the need for urology-gynecology collaboration, the background behind the ABMS recognizing the female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery subspecialty, and how barriers to full integration of providers treating pelvic floor disorders can be overcome.

"Those patients (and their caregivers) who take ownership of more aspects of their health care experience, including relevant and personalized information, will have better outcomes," writes Steven A. Kaplan, MD.

With the New Year being associated with resolutions of improved health and fitness and reducing the number on the scale, it seems a particularly appropriate time to share some information about how obesity impacts urologic care and treatment, and the impact of obesity on malpractice litigation.

Sanofi Pasteur recently announced that it is discontinuing its BCG products TheraCys and ImmuCyst, prompting fears of a shortage of BCG for bladder cancer patients. In this interview, Dr. Benjamin J. Davies, associate professor of urology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, discusses the implications of the announcement and what’s next for patients and clinicians.