Benign Conditions

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Bladder Cancer

Female Urology

Genitourinary Cancers

Genomic Testing

Hormone Therapy

Kidney Cancer

Challenging Anatomy

Innovative Techniques

Laser Lithotripsy

PCNL Tech & Devices

Ureteroscopy Tech & Devices

Kidney Stones

Men's Health

Next-Generation Imaging

Voiding Dysfunction

OAB and Incontinence

Pediatrics

Controveries in Urologic Cancer

Drug Therapy

Prostate Cancer

Sexual Dysfunction

UTUC

Cosmetic Surgery

Urologic Surgery

Business

Practice Management

Malpractice Consult

Health Law & Policy

Media

Case-Based Peer Perspectives

Investigator Perspectives 

Medical World News

Podcasts

Urology Medical Perspectives

UTv Videos

Peer Exchange

Special Report

Virtual Tumor Board

Insights

Medcast

Peers & Perspectives

Conferences

Conference Listing

Conference Previews 

Conference Recaps

Publications

Urology Times Journal

Editorial Advisory Board

Urologists in Cancer Care

Supplements and Featured Publications

Clinical Forums Recaps

CME/CE

Resources

Begin Your Journey: Tackling Burnout

Live Events

Interactive Tools

Job Board

Partners

Treatment Landscape Evolutions

Subscribe

Articles

A recap of the FDA submissions and regulatory decisions in urology from February 2025. 

FDA updates in urology: February 2025

Overall, 84.2% of patients achieved a 50% or greater reduction in urgent leaks.

Pivotal study data show efficacy of percutaneous SNM device for UUI 

The updates emphasize a risk-stratified approach to the management of microhematuria.

AUA, SUFU release amendment to microhematuria guideline

 is compliance officer and medical director of coding and reimbursement, United Urology Group and Chesapeake Urology, in Towson, Maryland.

"For telephone-only (audio only) visits, Medicare has officially stated that such a visit would be considered the same as an in-person visit, with a few qualifications," write Jonathan Rubenstein, MD, and Mark Painter.

How to bill for telephone-only urology visits

Urology Times is the leading resource for urologists & allied health professionals offering clinical analysis, policy perspectives, & practical advice.

About Us

Advertise

Editorial

Contact Us

Terms and Conditions

Privacy

Do not sell my Personnal Information

Urology Times | News & Insights for Urologists & Health Professionals

Facebook

LinkedIn

Spotlight

Peers and Perspectives

Clinical

1rem

Clinical Focus

2025 GU Satellite Symposia in San Francisco

Case-by-Case: Application of HIF-PHIs for the Treatment of Anemia in Patients with CKD

Jason Hafron, MD; Aaron D. Berger, MD; Arpeet Shah, MD

Medical Crossfire® in Adjunctive Testing: Charting a New Course in Prostate Cancer Risk Assessment

 Assistant Editor Janelle Hart speaks with 

 He discusses the role of the urologist in destigmatizing male infertility and why this condition is especially difficult for patients to live with. Schlegel is a James J. Colt professor of urology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, New York.

“The urologist's role is to try to normalize what is going on and provide easier access,” says Peter N. Schlegel, MD.

Destigmatizing Urology: Dr. Schlegel discusses male infertility

® Assistant Editor Janelle Hart spoke with 

. He discusses male sexual dysfunction and how the stigmas surrounding this condition can lead to worsening physical health for these patients. Burnett is a professor of urology and oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.

“That's certainly the most significant stigma, the stigma that you're not quite the man that you want to be or what you perceive your partner wants you to be,” says Arthur L. Burnett, MD, MBA, FACS.

Destigmatizing Urology: Dr. Burnett discusses sexual dysfunction in men

In this podcast, Ariana Matz, MD, discusses the 

 study, “Review of priapism litigation in the United States,” for which she served as a study author.

“I think it's the responsibility of the physician to really take on educating and counseling and setting clear expectations and that way, when complications do arise, patients are better equipped, and they have a more favorable outcome,” says Ariana Matz, MD.

Researchers evaluate data on priapism malpractice litigation

A recap of the FDA submissions and regulatory decisions in urology from January 2025.

FDA Updates in Urology: January 2025

"Wearable devices are increasingly being used to understand and improve male sexual dysfunctions," write the authors.

AI and wearables: The new age of smart sex

"I think this is a very important trial, just to bring some importance about patients' worries about being sexually active with urinary incontinence," says LeRoy Jones, MD.

Sexual QOL improved at 12 months following AUS placement

"We found that the new TENACIO pump was able to complete tasks faster and more efficiently compared to the older MS pump," says Justin Lee, MD.

TENACIO inflatable penile prosthesis pump fills faster compared with MS pump

SMSNA 2024 abstract data show shockwave therapies and platelet-rich plasma, either alone or in combination, may be promising treatments for ED.

Low-intensity shockwave therapy, plasma injections efficacious for erectile dysfunction

Dayna R. Smerina and Amy M. Pearlman, MD, discuss their research projects in sexual medicine. 

Dayna R. Smerina and Amy M. Pearlman, MD, discuss their research in sexual medicine

In this video, from the 2025 Desai Sethi Urology Institute Urology on the Beach meeting, 

 discuss their research projects in sexual medicine. Smerina is an OMS-3 at the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Pearlman is a urologist and co-founder of the Prime Institute in Coral Gables, Florida.

Hi, folks. My name is Dr Amy Pearlman, and I have Dayna Smerina here with me. Dayna and I met over a year ago at a Broward County journal club. She was presenting on a person who had come into the clinic with a testicular mass, and she crushed her presentation. So sitting next to her during that dinner, I said, "Dayna, are you looking to do some research?" And over that 1-year span, we've actually worked on a lot of research together. The first project that we worked on together was writing a chapter on sexual enhancement products. The challenging part of that was, there's not much research in the literature. But the easy part is, there's not that much research in the literature. So how do you write a chapter when there's not a lot of research? What were some of the challenges you faced when you were doing that literature search?

Obviously, [there was a] limited amount of research, and then even if there was a case report, it was a case report from the 1980s in Italy. It also brings up how important it is to have those personal case reports of someone's journey, because even though it's that person's individual journey, other people can relate to it. I remember one thing that I added in that chapter was this man who had erectile dysfunction after prostate cancer, and his lesbian friend was trying to encourage him to use a prosthetic penis, basically. That is not a medical device at all, but he found that he was able to have a meaningful sex life again with his wife by using that, and it was because he had that person encouraging him. And that experience very much can be generalized to a lot of post-prostatectomy or even any other type of treatment to the prostate. Even though it was a single case report and it was a personal journey of this 1 patient, I think that actually has some power in it as well, that other people can relate to it...And so I remember that the most out of that chapter that we wrote.

I think [that was] one of the more fun chapters that I've worked on throughout my career. It really just goes to show that in a space where there's not much research, those case reports will really be the bulk of what we're writing in a chapter. Even if there's 1 patient or 5 patients or 10 patients, that matters. And I think that's a call to action for people in the sex tech industry. A lot of people come to me as a consultant, and they say, "how many patients do I need to include?" And if it's a data-free zone, I just say, "just 1 to start or just 5 to start." You don't have to have a whole bunch of patients, but you need something in the peer-reviewed literature, so when people like us are writing chapters, we have something to reference.

Something else that we worked on shortly after that was a video collection for an online journal that publishes videos on sexual medicine. We got to interview people from around the country, people like Dr Tori Mallow, who is a pelvic physical therapist in the Delray area; people like Dr Rachel Rubin, who has a practice in DC; Dr Lisa Paz, who is a sex therapist. The goal was to show people and other urologists and colleagues, how do you actually talk about sex toys to your patients? What is the role of a sex therapist in that discussion? What is the role of a pelvic physical therapist in that discussion? What were some of the learning points that you took away from hearing, how does the sex toy conversation play out with different specialists?

So I think that it's definitely a multi-disciplinary approach and that everyone has their role. We went to the physical therapist's office, which was so cool. We saw the physical therapy exercise room with all her instruments. And then, when you re-watch the video, you could see the sex therapist and how important it is to maybe involve the partner in these conversations. And so I think the overall thing was that [there needs to be] open communication with the patient and all these specialists. And sometimes that could be hard to coordinate, but if a patient doesn't know to maybe bring up these concerns to their PCP or their urologist, or maybe they go to a physical therapist for something else, and that physical therapist knows a pelvic floor specialist, and I think it's just putting these ideas out there so that it might reach the right person 1 day and they could feel empowered enough to talk about it with their doctor.

I think one of the reasons why I was really excited about creating that video montage is, let's say there's a provider that doesn't feel comfortable having that discussion, or simply doesn't have the time, because it does take time. Maybe their exit strategy in that scenario is, maybe they just introduce the video link, and they say, "This is a little bit out of my expertise, but there's a great 10-minute video that you can watch that will give you all the information you need about using sexual wellness products." I think at the very least, that's what I hope the video can do for people.

Now, let's fast forward a little bit to the current research that we're working on, which is looking at detumescence time. I would say this pilot work that we're doing is honestly the most challenging that I think we've worked on over the last year, because there is literally nothing in the scientific literature that looks at detumescence. We just assume that [detumescence] is normal and that that's going to happen. But the question is, can we do anything about it? And so we did a pilot study of 21 patients using a device from FirmTech [called] MaxPR, which is a fancy erection ring. Our goal was to figure out,can we prolong detumescence time in men who take PDE-5 inhibitors, in men who use this erection ring, and what happens when we combine those therapies? When we think about why this question even matters, well, it matters for a lot of reasons. Women just take longer to reach climax. If that guy can prolong his detumescence time, where he's still in the game for maybe another minute, 4 minutes, 5 minutes, that could be a game changer in terms of a heterosexual couple. Or if someone is suffering from premature ejaculation, he orgasms, but he can still penetrate for a couple more minutes. Again, that's another game changer. Why don't you talk about some of the findings from this study?

The combined therapy was the best with the MaxPR ring and the medication, but then comparing the MaxPR ring with the medication, it was actually kind of equal. Maybe this is a chance for patients to say, "I don't want to take the medication. It interferes with my other medications," or, "I have ED and I'm an older gentleman [with] a lot of other comorbidities, and I don't want to take this extra pill." And so I just think, even if it doesn't mean that one's better than the other, I think it's just people having the options and talking about it more will just make everyone's experience better.

Absolutely. And then I think looking on the horizon of the things that both of us are interested in, and one of the reasons why I'm also at the Urology on the Beach conference is I love hearing about the new technologies. We talk about sex technologies, and now I'm kind of coining the term "toilet tech" advancements. When we think about what's on the horizon, a lot of people get a little bit nervous when it comes to artificial intelligence sort of invading the medical space, but there's so much opportunity for using artificial intelligence and machine learning. That was really the fourth piece of work that you and I have worked on, is you were writing a review paper on the implications and the implementation of artificial intelligence and machine learning and wearable devices in sexual medicine...What were some of your take-home points from that?

I think my take-home point was how vast the information can be with artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence can make artificial data. We basically were writing about how you can give the robot a data set and say, "Our data set isn't big enough. Can you make up fake patients that kind of fit the data set?" And so now we have a bigger data set, and we can make more predictions, more solid predictions, from it. We really didn't have those extra patients. [The AI] knows how to make a fake data point. And you might say that we shouldn't have fake data points. But then with HeHealth, they were doing it with the M pox outbreak, and with just a few Mpox photos, the robot made more and then the robot was able to learn from the photos it made. It sounds pretty exciting to me.

I'm excited about the use of AI. Part of that paper, too, was talking about, what are the ethical implications? We can't talk about the exciting points of AI without the ethical implications. Especially in this sexual medicine space, we have to think about discretion and if someone is sending a photo, what happens to that photo, and where is the data stored, and can it ever be tied back to that person? I like that, in writing this paper together, we learned, what are those targeted things that companies are doing to make sure that the data are safe and are used appropriately. That was a big learning point for both of us as well.

It is, and you feel an ethical responsibility that you are the one advocating for this, and also that these are people's intimate parts and intimate parts of their personal life, and I think that showing them that it could be safe, and then also saying, "This is what HeHealth has done, and this is what these other companies have done," that once the picture is reviewed by the physician, it's gone, and just reiterating that to gain trust. Because if there's no trust, then's no one's going to use the technology and it's really useless. So I think it's again, just about communicating with people and gaining trust.

I'm excited for some more of the work that we're going to be working on. Stay tuned. AI and wearable technology are really all the rage in 2025.

This transcript was AI generated and edited by human editors for clarity.

Videos

Smerina and Pearlman discuss recent research collaborations in the field of sexual medicine.

team conducted dozens of video interviews in 2024, comprising a variety of topics, ranging from erectile dysfunction to urinary tract infection. Here are the top-performing 

Dr. Dubin on trends in erectile dysfunction medication usage

, shares key findings from the study, “Beyond the prescription: trends and challenges in erectile dysfunction medications among young adult men,” for which he served as the senior author. Watch the video 

Olivia Paulsen on the association between BPH and erectile dysfunction

 gives an overview of the study “Benign Prostatic Enlargement Is Associated With Erectile Dysfunction in United States,” which she presented at the 25th Fall Scientific Meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North in Scottsdale, Arizona. Watch the video 

Dr. Bernie on testosterone therapy for men on active surveillance

, highlights the lack of long-term data on testosterone therapy for men on active surveillance for prostate cancer. Watch the video 

Urologist discusses Aquablation, rise in large prostates seen in his practice

 discusses Aquablation and shares an observation regarding an increase in large prostates. Watch the video 

Dr. Hougen on adding a coefficient for Black race to the 4Kscore

, shares the background and findings from the study, “Adding a Coefficient for Race to the 4Kscore Improves Calibration for Black Men.” Watch the video 

Dr. Dubin on the direct-to-consumer market for erectile dysfunction medications

 discusses the rationale for the study, “Beyond the prescription: trends and challenges in erectile dysfunction medications among young adult men.” Watch the video 

Dr. Soon-Shiong discusses the FDA approval of N-803 in NMIBC

In April 2024, the FDA approved N-803 (Anktiva, nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln), a first-in-class IL-15 receptor agonist immunotherapy for use in combination with BCG for the treatment of patients with BCG-unresponsive non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) with carcinoma in situ with or without papillary tumors. In this interview, 

 discusses the significance of the FDA approval for immunotherapy in NMIBC. Watch the video 

Steven A. Kaplan, MD, shares initial data on sildenafil oral spray vs tablets

 of ASP-001, an investigational oral formulation of sildenafil for patients with erectile dysfunction. Watch the video 

Dr. Meddings on catheterizing for urinary retention

 describes the background and notable findings from the 

 paper “Urinary Retention Evaluation and Catheterization Algorithm for Adult Inpatients.” Watch the video 

Dr. Varda on challenges in the diagnosis of urinary tract infection

 discusses the key take-home messages from the study, “Antibiotic Overtreatment of Presumed Urinary Tract Infection Among Children with Spina Bifida,” for which she served as the lead author. Watch the video 

As the year comes to a close, we revisit some of this year’s top video content from Urology Times.

Does varicocele affect prostate cancer outcomes?

 discusses the study “Exploring the Impact of Varicocele on Prostate Cancer Patients: A Propensity-Score Matched Analysis Using Global Real-World Data,” which he presented at the 25th Annual Fall Scientific Meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America in Scottsdale, Arizona. Hammad is a Masters of Biomedical and Translational Science Candidate at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) School of Medicine and a clinical research fellow at UCI Health – Department of Urology.

Please provide an overview of this study and its notable findings.

As you know, infertility is one of the main issues in men's health, and varicocele is one of the most common causes of infertility, if not the most common cause. Recent literature has arisen regarding the aggressiveness of prostate cancer related to infertility, so we wanted to question this, and we wanted as many patients as possible. We queried a real-time database known as TriNetX. When we looked at outcomes, we had 2 groups: one [with patients with] prostate cancer with varicocele, the other [with patients with] prostate cancer without varicocele. When you have 2 groups, you want to try to compare them apples to apples, so we did something called propensity score matching. Basically, you have a lot of factors that you try to eliminate in order to make sure that you have 2 comparable groups. A lot of co-factors were included. We basically had 2 comparable groups at the end, each having 3800 patients. When we compared both groups, we had a lot of findings to deduce from the study. We found that with a 5-year Kaplan-Meier survival analysis that patients with varicocele had worse outcomes than patients without varicocele. The only question that I had in mind after the study was, would it hurt for [patients with] prostate cancer [who have a] varicocele to have a varicocelectomy before going to a radical prostatectomy? That's the question we'll try to answer later on.

"We found that with a 5-year Kaplan-Meier survival analysis that patients with varicocele had worse outcomes than patients without varicocele," says Muhammed A. Moukhtar Hammad, MBBCh.

Elia Abou Chawareb, MD, discusses the study “Analyzing Google Search Trends for ‘Vaginal Estrogen’ and Its Relationship to Medical Recommendations for Post-menopausal Women"

Study points to increased public interest in vaginal estrogen

 discusses the study “Analyzing Google Search Trends for ‘Vaginal Estrogen’ and Its Relationship to Medical Recommendations for Post-menopausal Women,” which was presented at the 25th Annual Fall Scientific Meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The findings suggest a growing interest in vaginal estrogen among post-menopausal women. What are the potential clinical implications of this trend?

What's important here is that there's an increased public interest in this vaginal estrogen therapy, which will make it easier for physicians to have informed discussion with the patients, make it easier to start preventive measures, make it easier also for patients to know more about the treatment that their physician may discuss with them; they may say, "let's start this earlier, so we can control yoursymptoms better."

What factors might contribute to disparities in access to vaginal estrogen? Are there specific populations or geographic regions that may be more likely to face barriers in obtaining this treatment?

Like any other treatment that is new, the first thing that comes to mind is the price. That's 1 factor. The other factor is the socioeconomic status of the patients. Also, there are locations in the US that do not give much importance to new publications, or even the doctors are not that into research. And even with that, where we don't have any big academic centers, or where they have low socioeconomic [areas], we don't have that much [promotion of] these medications.

The study presented at the Sexual Medicine Society of North America meeting highlights a growing interest in vaginal estrogen among post-menopausal women, potentially facilitating more informed discussions between patients and physicians. This trend may lead to earlier intervention and better symptom management. However, disparities in access to vaginal estrogen exist, influenced by factors such as cost, socioeconomic status, and geographic location. Areas lacking academic centers or research-focused physicians may face additional barriers, limiting the promotion and availability of this treatment.

"What's important here is that there's an increased public interest in this vaginal estrogen therapy," says Elia Abou Chawareb, MD.

Elia Abou Chawareb, MD, gives an overview of the study “Analyzing Google Search Trends for ‘Vaginal Estrogen’ and Its Relationship to Medical Recommendations for Post-menopausal Women"

Elia Abou Chawareb, MD, on search trends for vaginal estrogen

 gives an overview of the study “Analyzing Google Search Trends for ‘Vaginal Estrogen’ and Its Relationship to Medical Recommendations for Post-menopausal Women,” which he presented at the 25

 Annual Fall Scientific Meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Please provide an overview of this study and its results.

In this paper, we wanted to see if medical recommendations for vaginal estrogen for postmenopausal women for symptom correction have a correlation with rising interest [among patients]. We analyzed the Google trends for this for the past 6 years. We searched for Google trends for vaginal estrogen. We limited it to 6 years just to account for the more recent trends. We did the same thing with PubMed. We limited also to 6 years and searched medical papers and publications during this time. We wanted to compare the 2 trends, the trend for Google interest and the trend for PubMed publication. What we found out that there's an increased interest between the years 2017 and 2023, and where there were peaks of increased interest, it coincided with the time of influential publications and influential guidelines for vaginal estrogen.

The study investigates the correlation between medical recommendations for vaginal estrogen in postmenopausal women and public interest, as reflected in Google search trends. By analyzing data from the past six years, the research compares Google search trends with PubMed publications on the topic. The findings reveal a notable increase in public interest from 2017 to 2023, with peaks aligning with the release of influential publications and guidelines. This suggests that medical literature and guidelines significantly impact public awareness and interest in vaginal estrogen therapy.

"We wanted to see if medical recommendations for vaginal estrogen for postmenopausal women for symptom correction have a correlation with rising interest [among patients]," says Elia Abou Chawareb, MD.

Muhammed A. Moukhtar Hammad, MBBCh, discusses the study “Are Patients Undergoing Intralesional Injection Therapy for Peyronie's Disease Compliant? A Seven Years Analysis From a Tertiary Care Men's Health Center"

Investigators evaluate compliance with CCH treatment for Peyronie disease

 discusses the study “Are Patients Undergoing Intralesional Injection Therapy for Peyronie's Disease Compliant? A Seven Years Analysis From a Tertiary Care Men's Health Center,” which he presented at the 2024 Sexual Medicine Society of North America Fall Scientific Meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona. Hammad is a Masters of Biomedical and Translational Science Candidate at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) School of Medicine and a clinical research fellow at UCI Health – Department of Urology.

Please discuss your SMSNA 2024 study "Are Patients Undergoing Intralesional Injection Therapy for Peyronie's Disease Compliant? A Seven Years Analysis From a Tertiary Care Men's Health Center."

Xiaflex, as you know, has become a preferred modality for the treatment of Peyronie disease, and therefore we wanted to explore the outcomes, the compliance rates, the complications with regards to Xiaflex. We defined compliance as having at least 4 cycles of Xiaflex, or they terminated the treatment, per the actual satisfactionrates that they have. So if the patient was satisfied with the treatment, they can stop midway. We actually defined that based on those 2 rules. And then we looked at patients who underwent Xiaflex treatment in a single academic institution, which was theUniversity of California, Irvine, with Dr [Faysal] Yafi. We looked at patients from 2017 till 2023 and when we did that, we tried to look at their demographics and how they are actually compliant. We had a high compliance rate of approximately 70%, but we strive for perfection. Why were the rest not compliant? That was a big question. So we tried to break down the non compliance into a nice pie chart, if you have a look at the poster, and then the majority had unidentifiable causes. But the other reasons that were a little bit interesting was, for example, 6% had a change of insurance plans, and that's why they stopped taking Xiaflex. Others, midway, wanted to opt for surgical options, which was another thing. Then we looked at other reasons for noncompliance. One of the things that they stopped the treatment for is that midway, they just had satisfactory results, which is interesting, because we normally have patients go at least 4 cycles. So looking at these results, we tried to see the reasons for noncompliance. I think this helps the scientific community to know the reasons for these noncompliance. And with these findings, we can actually see the reasons, and we try to solve the reasons for this, and with this, we try to improve their compliance rates, and we try to improve the overall outcomes that we have for Xiaflex treatment in patients with Peyronie disease.

 This transcript was AI generated and edited by human editors for clarity.

The study investigates compliance rates and outcomes of intralesional injection therapy using Xiaflex for Peyronie's disease over seven years at a tertiary care center. Compliance was defined as completing at least four treatment cycles or achieving patient satisfaction. The study found a high compliance rate of 70%, with noncompliance often due to unidentifiable causes, insurance changes, or opting for surgical alternatives. Understanding these factors can help improve compliance and treatment outcomes for Peyronie's disease, contributing valuable insights to the scientific community.

"We wanted to explore the outcomes, the compliance rates, [and] the complications with regards to Xiaflex," says Muhammed A. Moukhtar Hammad, MBBCh.

Justin Dubin, MD, discusses the potential benefits of direct-to-consumer (DTC) men’s health companies

Justin Dubin, MD, on how direct-to-consumer men’s health companies can benefit patients

 discusses the potential benefits of direct-to-consumer (DTC) men’s health companies. Dubin is a urologist with Memorial Healthcare System in Aventura, Florida.

Are there specific conditions or circumstances where you would advise men to consult with a health care professional before using DTC products?

I personally think there are an incredible amount of benefits [with DTC companies]. First off, DTC companies, especially in the men's health space, have really done a wonderful job of destigmatizing conversations. You can't go anywhere anymore without seeing an ad on social media, on TV, on podcasts, for erectile dysfunction, low energy, low libido, ejaculatory problems. So to many degrees, they're doing the work that we need to be doing in terms of educating and destigmatizing these conversations. The other thing that they're able to do is they're able to provide access to people who may not be able to get access to health care issues, whether they're uninsured or they're not in an area that has a urologist or a provider. And they're able to provide that convenience and anonymity that a lot of people want, a lot of men want in the sexual health space.

Now, are they always doing what's best for the patient? Is it always affordable? I think in some ways, yes, in some ways, no. I think at the end of the day, direct-to-consumer is not an enemy. I think that we need to understand that they're here to stay, and as providers, we need to educate our patients on the risks and benefits of them. But one thing that I do think that we have to make sure, especially in the direct-to-consumer testosterone replacement, erectile dysfunction, sometimes these issues are not necessarily just an issue with your erections or your low testosterone. These things can be a sign or symptom of other things going on, whether it's diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and I think it's important to educate men that just because you have 1 issue that you're treating with a medication doesn't mean that all of your problems are solved. We really need to educate men that this is 1 aspect of your health, but we may need to be checking other things. I can't tell you how many times that guys come in and I've diagnosed them with diabetes, high blood pressure, and they were just there for erections. And so I think direct-to-consumer is a great gateway for a lot of men to engage about their health for the first time, learn about their health for the first time, and hopefully be a stepping stone and motivational tool to have them come see us. And so I do think that we're able to access potentially more men by understanding direct-to-consumer, working hopefully with direct-to-consumer to really get our messages across. Because I think at the end of the day, the more men that are aware of their sexual health and that can at least start addressing it, the better for everyone.

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) men's health companies have significantly contributed to destigmatizing discussions around sexual health issues like erectile dysfunction and low libido. They offer accessibility and anonymity, especially for those without healthcare access. However, while DTC services can be beneficial, they may not always address underlying health conditions such as diabetes or heart disease. Healthcare professionals should educate patients on the potential risks and benefits of DTC products. DTC can serve as a gateway for men to engage with their health, potentially leading to further medical consultation.

"DTC companies, especially in the men's health space, have really done a wonderful job of destigmatizing conversations," says Justin Dubin, MD.

Michael Jenson, PA-C, discusses the benefits of the Surgical Impotence Management Strategy program. 

Urology PA on how the Surgical Impotence Management Strategy program results in better informed patients

The Surgical Impotence Management Strategy program aims to enhance patient care by providing comprehensive insights and support, reducing reliance on potentially misleading online information. This approach helps patients avoid comparing themselves to extreme outcomes found on social media or blogs, fostering a more informed and less frustrated patient experience. By encouraging healthcare providers to adopt this strategy, the program ultimately benefits both patients and medical practices, leading to improved patient satisfaction and outcomes.

"I think that as patients go through this, it's a reminder that it's very scary," says MIchael Jenson, PA-C.

Sexual Dysfunction

Latest News