We are very excited to welcome you to UroToday’s new Health Policy Center of Excellence. Although the practice of medicine has always been profoundly shaped by the sociopolitical landscape, the COVID-19 pandemic was a stark reminder of how healthcare and policy rely heavily on each other to ensure a functioning and healthy society. Urology may be a small field, but even two decades ago, the estimated cost burden of urological diseases in Americans exceeded $11 billion.1 Despite this, the voice of the urologist is often missing from legislation and healthcare initiatives.
The importance of physician engagement in health policy is critically important, now more than ever! To that end, UroToday hopes to provide an easy, accessible resource for urologists to stay up to date on all important urological health policy data, important new practice-changing policies, and resources that will allow you to deliver high-quality, value-centered care to your patients.
Purpose
- Improving the health of our patients
As the field of medicine is propelled forward with cutting edge technological advances that carry significant promise, it is essential that these treatments are accessible to all Americans. Over the past several years, the inequities within healthcare have come into focus. There is a vast body of literature describing disparities in all aspects of urological disease, both benign and malignant.2,3,4,5 Yet, describing these disparities is not enough. Research that explores root causes and potential solutions to mitigate differential access to high quality care based on race/ethnicity, health literacy, geographic location, and other factors is just as essential as medical discovery research. The implementation of such initiatives is critical as we strive to achieve equitable health outcomes in populations of patients with urological disease. As these studies and quality improvement initiatives emerge, we will spotlight this data so urologists can adopt best-practices as stewards of high-value care. Furthermore, as state and national legislation is introduced, we will provide urologists with easy resources to reach out to their elected representatives to voice their feedback.
- Protecting the practice of medicine
The industry of healthcare is rapidly changing as large corporations, private equity, and both non-profit/for-profit entity expansion encroach upon the sanctity of the private practice physician. Layered with payment reform, coding and billing changes, and measurement of quality, the overwhelming pace of change seemingly beyond physician control has been a large contributor to burnout. We strive to provide urologists with a resource to not only keep up with changes that may be on the horizon, but also give urologists the ability to voice their concerns during opportunities for public comment and stakeholder engagement.
Objectives
- To highlight novel health policy, quality improvement, and health services research focused on equitable outcomes, preventing disease and improving urologic health.
- To disseminate the above data to the broader urologic community in an effort to inform clinical practice and health policy initiatives
- To raise awareness regarding the introduction of pertinent, practice changing legislation that requires physician feedback
- To provide an easy way for urologists to reach out to elected representatives and governmental agencies during opportunities for public comment so that clinicians can help shape sweeping changes to healthcare
AUA Summit 2023
The AUA Summit is the annual leading forum on urologic health policy to expand, strengthen and unify the voice of urology on matters impacting our practices and patients. This year’s agenda includes physician payment reform, expanding telehealth flexibilities, addressing workforce issues, access to prostate cancer screening, and reducing the burden of prior authorization in practice. We understand that leaving a busy practice to attend the AUA Summit may not be possible for many urologists. To that end, we will kick-off our Health Policy Center of Excellence with thorough coverage of Summit events, which include presentation summaries, but also interviews with policy experts from across the country to hear their analysis of what is in store for 2023 and beyond. Lastly, we will empower urologists to contact their representatives remotely, advocating for our patients and profession.
Future Goals
UroToday hopes to serve as a resource connecting urologists across all practice settings, from private practice to hospital-employed to academic urologists. As pertinent, practice-changing legislation is introduced, we aim to highlight grassroots efforts from the AUA and AACU that simplify the process of providing feedback to local policymakers. Furthermore, we can help bridge the gap across research which tends to live in institutional silos by covering relevant abstracts, papers, and presentations from local, regional, and national urologic meetings. The field of urology is long overdue in our call to action – there is strength in numbers, and the voice of urology must be amplified. We look forward to having you join us on this journey!
Sincerely,
Ruchika Talwar, MD
Section Editor – Health Policy
AUA Holtgrewe Legislative Fellow
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
References:
- Miller DC, Saigal CS, Litwin MS. The demographic burden of urologic diseases in America. Urol Clin North Am. 2009;36(1):11-v. doi:10.1016/j.ucl.2008.08.004
- Gonzalez DC, Khorsandi S, Mathew M, Enemchukwu E, Syan R. A Systematic Review of Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Female Pelvic Floor Disorders. Urology. 2022;163:8-15. doi:10.1016/j.urology.2021.09.018
- Mahal BA, Gerke T, Awasthi S, et al. Prostate Cancer Racial Disparities: A Systematic Review by the Prostate Cancer Foundation Panel. Eur Urol Oncol. 2022;5(1):18-29. doi:10.1016/j.euo.2021.07.006
- Morin JP, King AB, Goetz LL, Wolfe LG, Klausner AP. Racial disparities in bladder management in veterans with spinal cord injury and disorders. Neurourol Urodyn. 2019;38(3):968-974. doi:10.1002/nau.23942
- Klein JB, Nguyen CT, Saffore L, Modlin C 3rd, Modlin CS Jr. Racial disparities in urologic health care. J Natl Med Assoc. 2010;102(2):108-117. doi:10.1016/s0027-9684(15)30498-3