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The landscape of urology is continuously evolving. For independent practices at the intersection of healthcare and entrepreneurship, technological innovation, clinic operations, market forces, labor constraints, regulatory measures, and the demand for better care present a huge number of interconnected challenges. As part of team Emano Flow, I recently attended the LUGPA 2023 Annual Meeting to see how some of those independent groups create and maintain thriving practices and understand how Emano Flow can be instrumental to them. In this post I’ll share a few insights I gathered and my reflections on the event.
LUGPA 2023 brought to light a crucial issue: urology clinics are experiencing a high patient demand yet face financial strains. This imbalance stems from the fact that, often, services are provided at costs that are not sustainable, largely due to reimbursement models that don’t always align with the operational needs of urology groups. This requires practices to look at the most common case loads and develop operations around them to both improve and streamline care.
Implementing or improving care pathways for BPH have therefore become a focal point for clinics, aiming to not just enhance financial viability but also to better patient outcomes. This means developing systems that not only increase surgical capacity but also ensure that patients are receiving high-value care when they need it. It’s about enhancing the entire patient journey and ensuring continuity of care to provide the right intervention at the right time to drive patient outcomes. At Emano Flow, this is at the heart of our mission.
At the event, it was clear that home uroflowmetry is gaining recognition and will be an essential tool in the field. As this technology gains mainstream acceptance, it represents a leap forward in evaluation and monitoring accuracy and patient convenience, driving patient navigation. Research was also a hot topic at LUGPA 2023, with practices showing increased interest in participating in clinical trials and using their data for research. This shift could lead to new opportunities for innovation and additional income for practices, all while enhancing the quality of urological care.
Kyle Hussey, Hector Santana, Lori Tate, and Nancy Nikolovski shared valuable insights on enhancing practice efficiency by upskilling staff, particularly Medical Assistants. Cross-training allows for a more versatile team that can manage multiple aspects of a practice, creating a more robust and responsive patient care environment. Such strategies not only improve operational workflow but also support the continuity of care, ensuring patients navigate their health journey with fewer obstacles.
Arpeet Shah, Kevin Zorn, Tom Mueller, and Gregg Eure offered clinical discussion on the newest innovations in BPH, but also, critically, how operationally to embrace them. Diagnostics and data are clearly more important than even in tackling patient attrition and increasing the probability that patients get the correct treatment as quickly as possible. Arpeet’s presentation of the BPH clinical pathway at Associated Urological Specialists combined with his operational philosophy that a clinic should aspire to have each team member performing tasks at the peak of their skill level is extremely compelling. Obviously, looking at their benefits and potential drawbacks of new therapy options is important, but it’s clear the market is looking to be fairly saturated
The LUGPA 2023 Annual Meeting provided a clear picture of the present and future of urology and underscored the dual challenges and opportunities ahead for practices. It reinforced our obligation to adapt and innovate to help clinics serve their patients best. Digital health solutions like Emano Flow play a pivotal role in supporting these changes, offering tools that help practices enhance the continuity of care, BPH care pathways, and patient outcomes.
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