Dr. Lutz discusses the expanding role of men’s health clinics in urology

In this video, Michael D. Lutz, MD, highlights the growth of men’s health clinics in urology. Lutz is a urology partner at the Michigan Institute of Urology (MIU) as well as the President of the MIU Men’s Health Foundation.

Video Transcript:

Currently, my focus is on men's health and the role of men's health in urology. For a long time, men had been felt to not have a home, a health care home. And we as urologist for well over 20 years have thought that we were the men's health advocates, that we were the ones who were the caretakers of the health of men in our communities. The original men's health clinics were nothing more than testosterone or shot boxes in the community. But we have really become more advanced over time. We understand that men's health is more than just testosterone. Men's health is more than just erectile function and prostate disease. It's the sum total of one's health.

Particularly when we look at prostate cancer survivorship, or the management of erectile dysfunction, it's understanding one's cardiovascular [and] mental health. Men's health clinics have actually become way more advanced in the last 20 years. Understanding that men have greater needs than they once thought to need. We are now developing these men's health clinics throughout urologic practices across the country and across the globe to become true men's health advocates and offer services that help advance the care of men in our community.

When we thought about prostate cancer survivorship, we would focus primarily on the role of treating the disease itself. But what we've realized over time is that men who are prostate cancer survivors are at significant increased risk for anxiety [and] depression, particularly if they're on active surveillance protocols, [and] have a higher risk of suicide than any other solid malignancy in the human body. Many of these men really need a psychological evaluation, counseling, and coaching through the process in addition to understanding the risks to their own personal health, erectile function, and how they'll be on the other side of the treatment course. The advances in urology are now that when we do see men for prostate cancer evaluation and treatment planning, we have expanded our role and our services to be true men's health advocates, to offer them the services that they might need in order to be better survivors on the other side of the treatment course.

This transcription has been edited for clarity.