Health care reform in 2015: You do have choices
January 16th 2015If you feel like the practice of medicine is becoming more complicated and that the government and the payers are out to get you, you are not alone, nor are you paranoid. In this article, we examine a few of the issues you are currently facing and some of the choices you have to make.
Removal of cancer-free testicle prompts lawsuit
January 16th 2015While it is often difficult to defend a case involving the removal of an organ for cancer that is then determined to be cancer free, the added claim of lack of informed consent for the procedure does not aid the defense in these lawsuits.
Congress cuts coverage for erection devices
January 12th 2015Just over a year ago, the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services issued a report declaring that Medicare payments for vacuum erection systems were “grossly excessive” and recommended steps to remedy the situation.
Vasectomy reversal: Microsurgical epididymovasostomy (two-suture intussusception)
January 7th 2015In this video, Daniel H. Williams, IV, MD, demonstrates the use of microsurgical epididymovasostomy (two-suture intussusception technique) when no sperm are found in the testicular end of the vas deferens at the time of microsurgical reconstruction.
USC urologists take robot to next level in thrombectomy - VIDEO
January 6th 2015Urologists at the University of Southern California’s Institute of Urology in Los Angeles are taking robotic kidney surgery to a new level. Inderbir S. Gill, MD, MCh, executive director of the USC Institute of Urology, has pioneered the use of the robot in patients with complex (level III) inferior vena cava thrombi.
High-risk prostate cancer brings new challenge
January 6th 2015Advances in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer are among the great medical accomplishments of the latter part of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st. Five-year survival rates for newly diagnosed loco-regional cancer advanced from 68% in 1975-’77 to 83% in 1987-’89 to nearly 100% in 2003-’09, according to the American Cancer Society. This victory, however impressive, is incomplete.
RT/hormone combo cuts PCa mortality in older men
January 5th 2015The addition of radiation treatment to hormone therapy reduces mortality in older men with locally advanced prostate cancer compared with hormone therapy alone, according to a recently published study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
January 2015 New Products: Ultrasound system offers multiple features, high-resolution images
January 2nd 2015New products and services from Samsung Electronics America, Syneron Medical, American Medical Systems, New Star, Buffalo Filter, Cook Medical, Endo International, Trimel BioPharma Metamark, and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.
High-risk prostate cancer: Recommended reading
December 31st 2014Our January 2015 installment in the ongoing "New Frontiers in Prostate Cancer" series focuses on the challenges presented by high-risk disease. Here are some recommended articles about the diagnosis and treatment of high-risk prostate cancer.
Congress guts the IPAB, then takes on its role
December 31st 2014The 2015 omnibus spending bill canceled a $10 million appropriation for the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). Congress also approved a bill that cuts Medicare funding for vacuum erection systems. Rationing care, whether undertaken by the IPAB or Congress, must be opposed when it arbitrarily selects services based on public perception and not medical necessity, writes Ross E. Weber of the AACU.
January 2015 Product Preview: FDA committee recommends approval of complicated UTI agent
December 31st 2014Drugs and devices in the pipeline from Actavis, Genomic Health, Lipella Pharmaceuticals, Polaris Group, Innocrin Pharmaceuticals, OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Heat Biologics, Repros Therapeutics, and Sophiris Bio.