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Urologist Henry Rosevear, MD, thinks it may be time to bring patients into the prior authorization process.

Two recent JAMA studies confirm a higher rate of sexual and urinary side effects with radical prostatectomy compared with radiation therapy and surveillance.

The update provides evidence-based recommendations for different patient risk groups and specifies the most effective forms of the treatment for patients with prostate cancer.

In these videos, expert surgeons demonstrate robot-assisted penile inversion vaginoplasty, single-stage metoidioplasty, and simple orchiectomy for transgender patients.

Other pipeline developments include efficacy results for a bladder and prostate cancer drug, an infertility tool to predict sperm quality, the initiation of an immunotherapy combination for mUC, and more.

Among urologists, prior authorization ranks as their second most pressing concern, according to Urology Times’ 2016 State of the Specialty survey. The same survey showed the problem is getting worse, with 86% of respondents reporting that prior authorization demands are increasing.

Two topics of particular relevance at the 2017 Joint Advocacy Conference were IPAB repeal and medical liability reform, both of which have legislative initiatives currently gaining momentum in Congress.

The noninvasive molecular test for detecting recurrent urothelial carcinoma also demonstrates high negative predictive value in a prospective study.

Tom Wooldridge, PsyD, addresses misinformation regarding eating disorders in men.

In the arena of focal therapy for prostate cancer, standardization of management will be a key component of quality data going forward, says Scott Eggener, MD.

Urology Times reached out to four urologists (selected randomly) and asked them each the following question: How concerned are you about radiation exposure?

A 5-year-old girl is evaluated for recurrent urinary tract infections and lower abdomen pain. A kidney, ureter, and bladder x-ray and computed tomography are obtained.

Phase III study results suggest that a hydrogel spacer developed to separate the rectum and prostate during radiotherapy for prostate cancer works to maintain bowel and urinary quality of life and reduces late rectal toxicity by 78% at 3 years post radiotherapy.

Since passage of the Affordable Care Act, the number of testicular cancer patients with insurance has dwindled, while rates of advanced testis cancer have climbed, according to a recent study.

"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.