Amy Krambeck, MD, on considerations for building clinical programs in endourology

At the 2025 American Urological Association Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, Amy E. Krambeck, MD, presented a talk titled, “Innovation in endourology & building successful clinical programs.” In an interview with Urology Times®, Krambeck detailed key considerations for building these programs, such as defining success measures and determining the optimal timing for adding on a new partner.

On the former, Krambeck noted that it’s important to take into account number of cases, amount of publications, and clinical outcomes in order to measure success.

Krambeck is the chief of endourology and stone disease in the department of urology as well as the Edmund Andrews professor of urology at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, Illinois.

According to Krambeck, there are drawbacks to adding a partner too soon as well as adding one too late. When looking to add someone, you need find the “sweet spot,” which, according to Krambeck, “I think it's where you're full and you're starting to get a little bit tired and patients are starting to wait just a little bit. That's the perfect time to add a partner that you really trust, and you're ready to start handing over cases and handing over referrals to.”

Krambeck also noted that before adding a partner, you should make a plan of what you will handle with the extra time.

“Are you going to look at outcomes? Are you going to do more administration? Maybe [do] more research or education? But have a plan before it happens, so that you're prepared and ready for the transition.”