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"Good public and economic policy must align costs, benefits, and incentives; currently, all costs are incurred by physician practices, and all financial savings and benefits from prior authorization accrue to health insurance plans, leading to perverse incentives,” says Alex Shteynshlyuger, MD.

"The implications for urology, and every specialty, are immense. It does improve care, and it helps the patient. I think this is what it will be, it just may take some time," says Vipul Patel, MD.

"Per CPT coding instructions, when procedures or services performed by physicians do not have a valid or descriptive CPT or Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code, the service should be reported using an unlisted code," write Jonathan Rubenstein, MD, and Mark Painter.

In this episode of Speaking of Urology®, Eugene Rhee, MD, MBA, and Logan Galansky, MD, discuss key topics in health policy and recap the AUA's recent Annual Urology Advocacy Summit.

“What is becoming increasingly evident is that the traditional health care model is falling short for patients in rural regions,” says Ramy Abou Ghayda, MD, MPH, MBA candidate.

The EdgeFlow UH10 bladder scanner utilizes high-resolution ultrasound imaging to non-invasively measure postvoid residual urine in the bladder.

"[Telemedicine] really has demonstrated itself to be a tool that can be used in a variety of ways, according to the discretion and ingenuity of the urologist," says Aaron Spitz, MD.

The AACU is excited to announce its March 19, 2024 8PM EST webinar with Congressman Murphy.

In this interview, Joshua Langston, MD, highlights a session on Medicare reimbursement reform from the 7th Annual AUA Urology Advocacy Summit.

"An excess contribution into a Roth IRA can be a hassle, but it is correctible," writes Jeff Witz, CFP.

For 90-tablet prescriptions, the greatest costs saving were observed for solifenacin and oxybutynin, used for overactive bladder, and tadalafil, used for erectile dysfunction

"Urologists may wish to review their policies for patient portal, responding to requests for records, and supporting the concept of a shared electronic record," writes Robert A. Dowling, MD.

Health care practitioners utilizing telemedicine, regardless of the modality, must be cognizant of the many pitfalls of violating the rules regulating patient confidentiality as established by federal and state privacy laws.

"As investigational therapies and devices make their way through the approval process and into practice, urologists should stay abreast of early clinical results and may look to publicly available information for costs and utilization trends," writes Robert A. Dowling, MD.

Independent health care practices rely on online ratings and reviews to attract new patients and establish themselves as leading, recognizable providers in their community.

Prior authorizations for medical care will become quicker and easier, while saving money, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

"At MIU, we host many ancillary services, including complete ultrasound services, UroCuff, urodynamics, PTNS [percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation], full laboratory and pathology services, Xofigo [radium-223]," says Jason M. Hafron, MD.

According to statistics provided by the AUA, 385 medical students and other applicants were matched across 148 urology residency training programs nationwide.

"Continuing certification is not merely a bureaucratic process; it is a commitment to staying abreast of advancements in urology and maintaining competencies," writes J. Stuart Wolf Jr, MD, FACS.

The investigators at DSUI developed 4 recommended actions for urologists based on the findings from the survey: drive multidisciplinary collaboration, leverage technology excellence, bridge patient-urologist perspectives, and foster collaboration with general practitioners.

"Creating a year-to-year plan can ensure you are staying on track to accomplish your short-term and long-term goals," writes Jeff Witz, CFP.

There are several new CPT codes for 2024, including Category III codes for tibial nerve stimulation and other changes to codes in the treatment of urinary incontinence.

"Without interoperability, electronic insurance billing would be nearly impossible. Insurance payers, healthcare providers and claim clearinghouses all rely on interoperability at their core," writes Lisa Taylor.

"Specialty providers can take three steps now to succeed with MIPS while prioritizing caring for their patients," writes Wayne Singer.

"The mental toll of excessive screen time is a pressing concern in health care," writes Neil Baum, MD.

"The future of quality measurement is multiple different inputs to give us the best picture possible of the care we provide," says Timothy D. Lyon, MD, FACS.

"All participants in the process must recognize that telehealth is a resource for rendering health care and not a different type of practicing medicine," writes Richard Cahill, JD.

"Based on the definitions from the ASA and coverage rules for Medicare, the use of nitrous oxide for urology procedures is a noncovered service," write Jonathan Rubenstein, MD, and Mark Painter.

As 2023 comes to a close, we revisit some of this year’s top content on coding in urology.