Photoselective vaporization of the prostate in office and outpatient settings.

The 980 nm/1470 nm diode laser represents the latest in laser technology for photovaporization of the prostate. Surgeons have already used this device in both inpatient and outpatient (office and ASC) setting to produce transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) like lesions-albeit with fewer complications than traditional methods. The objective of this article is to report the techniques we used to demonstrate its efficacy and safety of the Evolve Dual (biolitec Inc., East Longmeadow, MA, USA) system in an outpatient surgery type setting.

Computer templates in chronic kidney disease care: a tool for improving patient management.

Templates are custom screens that physicians can use within many practice management systems to offer a more relevant and efficient form for viewing and entering patient information. The ability to customize and effectively use a template increases the physician's ability to avoid medical errors, increase quality, promote efficiency, and have a higher level of satisfaction and accomplishment when managing patients. They enable physicians and practices to collect structured data that can be used to track patient data, analyze systems, and assist in research and quality improvement. We argue that templates hold the potential to increase the efficiency and quality of medical care, especially in the management of patients with chronic kidney disease, and that physicians should embrace customizing the templates in their medical practice management systems.

The Physician Quality Reporting Initiative: a practical approach to implementing quality reporting.

The Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) is a voluntary program in which Medicare encourages eligible physicians in the United States to report on specific quality measures. This article is a case study of the implementation of PQRI reporting by Kidney Associates, a nephrology practice in Houston, TX. After reviewing and discussing 74 potential measures, the group narrowed the selection to 5 and chose 1 office measure and 2 dialysis measures. PQRI reporting was established through an Encounter Note template that forced a required entry for whether a patient was diabetic. For each diabetic, blood pressures were entered in the template and appropriate G-codes were created, which were then selected and linked with the diabetes International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision code and electronically submitted for billing. The dialysis measures were automatically selected from the urea reduction rate and hematocrit (hemoglobin x 3) measures that were received for each patient on a regular basis from a large dialysis chain. Software was developed to parse these data, evaluate them, and generate the appropriate G-codes. At the end of the billing cycle, these data were exported through a standard spreadsheet formatting along with the billing G codes, and claims were submitted. The system was cost-effective to implement, required minimal education, and achieved 100% cooperation through feedback education and rapid correction of systems issues. Kidney Associates was able to show that PQRI reporting is easy to implement with minimal expense and staff labor. Sharing these methods with other practices should facilitate the implementation of efficient reporting systems.

Adjunctive use of AndroGel (testosterone gel) with sildenafil to treat erectile dysfunction in men with acquired androgen deficiency syndrome after failure using sildenafil alone.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether combination therapy with testosterone gel (T-gel) and sildenafil citrate is effective in achieving adequate potency in subjects with low-normal serum testosterone levels in whom sildenafil alone has failed. METHODS: From July 2000 to June 2001, we evaluated 90 men (aged 32 to 72 years) in whom 3 months of sildenafil therapy at the maximal recommended dose (100 mg) with at least three attempts at intercourse during the 3-month period had failed. Of these, 24 men had testosterone levels less than 400 ng/dL (range 92 to 365, mean 231.4) and were subsequently started on 1% T-gel monotherapy (AndroGel, 5 g daily). After 4 weeks of T-gel alone (week 4), sildenafil citrate (Viagra, 100 mg) was added to the treatment regimen for an additional 12 weeks (through week 16). Potency was defined as the ability to have at least one episode of satisfactory intercourse during the treatment period. RESULTS: All the men had normalized serum testosterone levels after 4 weeks of T-gel monotherapy (range 424 to 596 ng/dL, mean 525). However, none of the men regained potency. At week 16, almost all (22 of 24, 92%) of the men reported improved potency with combination therapy. Improvement in erection quality was also observed. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study support the use of T-gel with sildenafil citrate in men with low-normal serum testosterone levels in whom sildenafil alone fails. It also underscores the numbers of men with low to low-normal testosterone levels who would benefit from testosterone screening when evaluated for erectile dysfunction.