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"The nurse practitioner that I work with is not only very knowledgeable in office-based pediatric urology but also, for problems like voiding dysfunction, more available to spend extra time with patients and their families," writes Barry A. Kogan, MD.

As the United States faces a urologist shortage, physician assistants and nurse practitioners will likely play an increasingly important role in the field of urology. Now, a new survey-the first of its kind-suggests that many of those in these positions are performing advanced procedures despite lacking postgraduate urologic training.

Single-stage anterior urethroplasty is feasible and safe when performed as a same-day outpatient procedure, even for men requiring combined substitution repairs, said University of Pittsburgh Medical Center urologists at the 2016 AUA annual meeting in San Diego.

The provision of health care via technology and without direct eye-to-eye and skin-to-skin contact is an area of growing interest in the U.S. It is also an area of great concern. One of the key conundrums surrounding telemedicine is the when, how, and what to pay for the service.

Findings of a retrospective study investigating variability of semen parameters after repeat testing in adolescents with varicocele indicate that a second semen analysis is warranted only when the sperm concentration is initially abnormal.

Value-based payment models tend to fall into three general categories: shared savings programs, capitation models, and episode-of-care models. In this article, Robert A. Dowling, MD, reviews the current landscape of these payment models, including public and private-sector models that may serve as examples for urology.

Clinicians may soon be able to improve the risk stratification of men with prostate cancer with the help of a genomic classifier or a biopsy-based reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay, according to the results of two studies presented at the Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in Orlando, FL.

With the U.S. stock market reaching record highs, it’s important to know how to prepare for an eventual fall. Plus, tax credits may be available for tuition payers.

A simple blood test that measures PSA structure rather than concentration may be more accurate than PSA in identifying men who need a prostate biopsy, according to the results of a study presented at the Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in Orlando, FL.

Hundreds of urologists visited Capitol Hill last month as part of the Joint Advocacy Conference, where they met with members of Congress on key issues affecting health care, urology, and urology practices. They did so at a historic time, as lawmakers sought to enact Republican legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

“We showed that we can safely compress radiation into a shorter time frame, into fewer treatments, at higher dose per fraction, with similar clinical outcomes and similar toxicity profiles,” said researcher Michael Wang, MD.

Recently published studies also evaluated testosterone replacement therapy’s effect on anemia, cognitive function, and bone density and strength.

“It may be that urologists need to rely more on their internal medicine instincts to find new ways to treat conditions such as IC/PBS,” writes SUNA President Gwendolyn Hooper, PhD, APRN.

A definitive radiotherapy dose for localized prostate cancer can be safely administered using high-dose rate brachytherapy as a single outpatient procedure.

Mood and adjustment disorders were strong predictors of the annual number of outpatient visits, hospital admissions, and number of days in the hospital for patients with prostate and breast cancer, according to a recent study.

Abraham Morgentaler, MD, shares why the recent publication of five studies on testosterone therapy in JAMA and JAMA Internal Medicine "was arguably the most important week ever for the science of testosterone therapy and its impact on men's health."

Millennial urologists appear to have developed strong opinions on health policy as reflected by their recent social media activity, observes urologist Alan L. Kaplan, MD.

In preparation for the AUA annual meeting in May, urologist Henry Rosevear, MD, shares the 10 sessions he’s looking forward to the most.

Other cases discussed in this column include ureter damage during hysterectomy, failure to follow up on kidney mass, and incontinence following pelvic organ prolapse surgery.

Results of an international randomized phase III study show that pembrolizumab (Keytruda) as second-line therapy for advanced urothelial carcinoma provided superior overall survival and a better safety profile compared with commonly used chemotherapy options.

Chemoradiotherapy is an effective alternative to cystectomy in the primary management of muscle-invasive bladder cancer, British researchers say.

The results could have major diagnostic and treatment implications for pediatric kidney stone patients, a researcher says.

Researchers have developed and validated a clinically useful prognostic model for men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, which can be used in the front-line setting.

Love them or hate them, online reviews are reality and powerful decision-making tools for patients searching for urologists and other physicians online. Managing or mismanaging a doctor’s online reputation can make-even threaten to break-a ­practice.

A quick look back at popular Urology Times articles from the beginning of 2017 reveals an intriguing cross-section of topics, including, but not limited to, ureteroscopy, the use of scribes, coding advice, and much more.

"The use of Twitter continues to grow within the field of urology, and it is important for residents to become well-versed in this important platform," writes Stacy Loeb, MD, MSc.

In many ways, policymakers, insurance companies, and certain health care providers seem to have a total disregard for men’s health, writes Henry Rosevear, MD.