BHN Healthcare Blog

During a urodynamics study (UDS), there are a variety of pieces of data coming in to the urologist and technician performing the study. Information will be obtained that is both subjective and objective in nature and the question is, who do you believe? Do you believe yourself and the objective data you are reviewing? Or, do you believe what the patient is telling you during the study? This blog post will explore this in detail.

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.

 

In any urology practice, critical questions related to what services to offer, who will provide them and where the services will be performed are the foundation of practice management. When establishing or managing a practice, one decision you must make is whether urodynamics (UDS) is a foundational and core offering the practice will offer or an ancillary service. As with many things in urology, the answer is not straightforward and in reality, it is a little bit of both, though I tend to think of UDS as an ancillary service for most practices.

Core services urologists must offer include basic history and examination ability, cystoscopy and access to and interpretation of relevant lab and/or radiologic studies of the urinary tract. A urologist who cannot offer these basic services is really not practicing urology. UDS is an important test that urologists offer; however, a urology practice can exist without offering UDS and still thrive.

 

Urodynamics testing is as much an art as it is a science. Unfortunately, there are many variables inherent to the way testing takes place that can lead to poor results. Here, how to know whether your urodynamics test results are poor will be discussed.

Urodynamics testing is one of the most powerful tools available for diagnosing problems in the lower urinary
tract. However, urodynamics interpretation is as much an art as it is a science. Here, common mistakes that are made during urodynamics interpretation¹ will be discussed. Also, check our article on Urodynamics Interpretation: How to do it Right.

Urodynamic testing is the best way to diagnose disorders of the lower urinary tract. However, many urodynamic technicians and doctors have never received formal training regarding the multiple tests and data interpretation.

In a 2002 survey¹ of 192 North American urodynamics services, less than 20% of respondents reportedly received formal training.

While the techniques themselves are easy to master, urodynamics interpretation can be more difficult. How to do it the right way will be described here.

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