BHN Healthcare Blog

Urodynamics (UDS) is a relatively safe office procedure; however, as with any invasive procedure or test, there are risks associated with performing UDS. A few simple steps can help avoid complications in the majority of patients. Most of the complications associated with UDS are related to urinary tract infections (UTI) and the majority of this blog will focus on that. Additional complications include pain, patient anxiety and injury from catheter placement.

UTI is the most common serious complication of UDS testing, though the frequency of this is difficult to quantify.¹ There are excellent guidelines on this from the University of Michigan¹ and the American Urologic Association (AUA) also offers guidance for the prevention of UTI’s associated with UDS.²

Providing an effective field service is one of the key responsibilities of medical device companies.

Traditionally, field service agents have been technical support staff with little to no background in medical sciences. Today, however, there is an increasing trend toward incorporating nursing staff, particularly nurse educators, in medical device field service.

Any industry thrives on customer satisfaction, and this applies equally to medical device companies. For medical device companies, customers are typically healthcare professionals who are fully satisfied only when they are able to use a device correctly and to its maximum efficacy, and can summon support to troubleshoot problems as soon as they crop up. Hence, the need for a reliable and readily available field service that can handle problems related to medical devices quickly.

What is expected from a traditional field service?

Field service is required after the sale of medical devices and field staff from the medical device company visit customer premises—usually a hospital or clinic—for this purpose. The general expectations from a field service are:

UDS is a critical procedure in the practice of urology and the management of voiding dysfunction in men and women. All urologists receive exposure to UDS testing during residency training. In the United States, residents are required to perform and interpret 10 UDS studies in order to graduate from residency. In addition, some residents choose to undertake fellowship training in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery (FPMRS), where substantial exposure to UDS is had. UDS testing certainly is utilized in significantly more patients and a part of care for many other patients encounter during training; however, as with many other skills, there will be a wide range of exposure during training and quality will certainly vary between programs.

If you ended up on this blog post, you are probably thinking about buying urodynamic equipment or are evaluating purchasing options. If you are, I am going to lay out an argument for not buying it.  As with purchasing any medical equipment, there are many hidden pitfalls. I want to lay out some of these pitfalls and detail an alternative to buying urodynamics equipment.

There’s no real love for waiting rooms. Call it the perpetual suspense, the white-coat syndrome lingers behind all modern chic designs. It’s time for practices to generate a greater practicality and explore deeper into human psychology behind waiting room worry.

I am the CEO of a service provider that provides diagnostic testing services to over 300 medical practices across the country. Our clientele ranges from the sole practitioner to extensive multi-specialty practices, to everything in-between. I am also the former Chief Marketing Officer for a top digital marketing agency in Chicago.

My staff and I are continually researching customers and prospects; therefore we are regularly reviewing medical practice websites. Through our work and research, we have made a few notes on where medical practices make mistakes with their sites. Below are a few of the most significant mistakes we typically see.

My company provides mobile urodynamics, anorectal manometry (ARM), and other diagnostic testing services, serving hundreds of practices and hospitals across the U.S.

We are considered a core service by many of our customers, but we are considered ancillary services by others.  We are regularly exposed to the ancillary medical services marketing efforts that practices pursue to attract patients to their ancillary services.  

Many marketing efforts are quite successful, while others yield almost no results. Below are a few of the ones we see working consistently.

My company provides advanced diagnostic testing services (primarily urodynamics testing, anorectal manometry testing, and other incontinence related services) to practices all over the country.

Through our work, we are exposed to practices at all profit levels from those that are hugely profitable to those that can barely pay the bills.  Based on our work, we have compiled a few ideas below that should help any practice be more profitable.  We hope that one or two will hit the mark for you.

Urodynamic services can be added to your medical practice to help increase your net income. The reason for this is that additional urodynamic services can increase your revenue by increasing the cost of the service and lowering reimbursements.

Before you decide to add extra services to draw in potential patients, you’ll want to ask yourself five distinct questions. These questions can help determine if adding additional urodynamic services can benefit your business.

When it comes to medical practice, the cost of doing business can be vastly different than for other small businesses. While building revenue is important, so is effective customer service and high-quality patient care.

As the model for reimbursement changes, efficient cost management is becoming a key component of the survival and stability of the independent medical practice.

Here, the types of costs associated with medical practices will be discussed, as well as why the variable cost structure is important.