UROLOGICAL CARE NEW CONCEPTS & BREAKTHROUGHS One Stop Shop


Introducing AMP Urology’s Comprehensive Care Model


C


omprehensive urological care is an initiative that seeks to house under


one roof services that might otherwise be divided among several clinics and hospitals.


Just like the human urological tract, urology’s diagnost ic,


treatment ,


and therapy disciplines are a highly interconnected, interdependent system. It makes sense for doctors involved in this system to work closely with one another. And it’s more convenient and less traumatic for patients to visit one clinic rather that shuffling from location to location.


Continuity of Care


At our East Water Street, Syracuse clinic, AMP Urology combines services to provide continuity of care within one organization. In other words, patients can find doctors who treat most urological disorders; perform surgeries; and offer radiation therapy, in-house pathology, ultrasound, and computed tomography (CT) imaging, also known as a CAT scan.


‘‘A personal ’’


8 VOLUME 1 ISSUE 1


By Christopher Pieczonka, MD Board-Certified Urologist


financial rather than sound clinical reasons.


However, a study in the September 2011 issue of the Journal of Urology finds that clinics that offer ancillary services are not using their equipment at a high rate. On the contrary, the study found that clinics with no CT equipment ordered more scans per diagnosis than clinics that benefit financially from the equipment.


Besides, patients of comprehensive clinics, by law, must be given a disclosure form before a CAT scan or similar test alerting them to the fact that the clinic owns its own equipment and will benefit if it is used. Accompanying the disclosure is a list of nearby clinics where the test could be performed.


Sound Guidelines


Ultimately, AMP uses objective guidelines compiled by national experts when ordering tests and treatments. If the guidelines for diagnosing and treating a urological disorder do not call for a CAT scan—perhaps because the radiation risk outweighs the benefit—AMP doctors will recommend against it. Adherence to these “treatment algorithms” is another way comprehensive care distinguishes itself.


approach is important in urology.


Recently, scientific literature and the media have raised concerns that clinics that use own their own equipment—such as CAT scanners—might be making diagnostic and treatment decisions for


The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), a not-for-profit alliance of 21 of the world’s leading cancer centers, provides one example of the treatment algorithms AMP uses. To fulfill its mission to improve cancer care, NCCN develops and publishes practice guidelines that AMP turns to when treating patients with prostate, kidney, bladder, and other cancers of the urological tract.


To compile its guidelines, NCCN uses contributing experts who are encouraged—through the use of trials and studies—to pinpoint what preventive,


diagnostic, treatment, and supportive cancer services are working and what aren’t. Best practices get a “Category 1” label—there is uniform consensus that the intervention works—and practices that don’t work are given “Category 3” status. Tese guidelines are used in more than 115 countries.


Better Outcomes


AMP finds that when specialists work closely with each other, collaboration makes for greater efficiencies and better outcomes. For instance, interventions such as CAT scans can be tailored to individuals, a process made even easier if the patient is a familiar face.


A cancer patient might be required to make between 40 and 50 visits to a clinic per year. At AMP, such a patient will get to know the staff—receptionists, technicians, doctors—and will feel less like an anonymous number moving through the halls of a monolithic medical institution. AMP patients can get tests and results in one place, and usually in one day, and outpatient oncology treatments such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy can be done at the urologist’s office rather than at a hospital.


A personal approach is important in urology. Urologists deal with many taboos and deeply personal matters, from end-of- life issues to matters of sexual health and incontinence.


Te comprehensive urological care that AMP advocates enables our practice to approach these matters in a discreet and comfortable atmosphere, where a patient is more likely to see a physician than a “physician extender,” and where, if there is a customer service issue, he or she can meet with the practice owner to seek a resolution.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20