Investigational agents for benign prostatic hyperplasia
January 1st 2010This review focuses on the clinical evidence supporting three nonsurgical treatments for BPH/LUTS in development: phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors, the intraprostatic instillation of onabotulinumtoxinA (BTA [Botox]), and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonists.
Surgery for incontinence: The pendulum has swung
January 1st 2010Over the course of a decade, the therapeutic pendulum in treating urinary incontinence in women swung dramatically from needle suspension and anterior urethropexy to collagen injections and back again to suspension procedures with no sound clinical trials driving the move toward either approach.
Dr. Schwaab joins Roswell Park Cancer Institute
December 17th 2009Roswell Park Cancer Institute has appointed Thomas Schwaab, MD, PhD, as staff physician and assistant professor of oncology in the departments of urology and immunology. Dr. Schwaab offers laparascopic and robot-assisted surgery to patients with kidney cancer and other genitourinary cancers.
AUA, other groups urge Senate to make 'critical' changes to reform bill
December 17th 2009AUA, as part of a coalition of 18 other surgical specialties, said it is urging the U.S. Senate to consider making critical changes to its version of the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act of 2009 to address significant concerns from physician groups.
Medicare PQRI incentives total more than $92 million in 2008
December 3rd 2009More than 85,000 physicians and other eligible professionals who successfully reported quality-related data to Medicare under the 2008 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) received incentive payments totaling more than $92 million, significantly above the $36 million paid in 2007, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Surgical errors remain a challenge; burnout cited as primary cause
December 3rd 2009Despite a national focus on reducing surgical errors, surgery-related adverse events continue to occur both inside and outside the operating room, according to a recent analysis of events at Veterans Health Administration Medical Centers.
House votes to eliminate Medicare physician pay formula
December 3rd 2009The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would abandon the current Medicare physician payment formula and allow future rates to increase based more closely on physicians? costs, a revision that is expected to cost approximately $210 billion over 10 years.