Share Your Story: Amplify the Voice of Urology

At LUGPA, we believe that your story is the most powerful tool in advocacy. The challenges you face in your practice—whether related to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, MACRA, payment models, in-office dispensing, cancer screening, telehealth, provider wellness, workforce issues, recruitment, genetic testing, disease screening, or insurance hurdles like step therapy and prior authorization—are critical to shaping policy.

By sharing your experiences, you bring a human face to these issues, making them more real and urgent for policymakers. Your stories can influence legislation, drive reforms, and ensure that the voice of independent urology practices is heard loud and clear.

Why Your Story Matters: Personal stories have the power to:

• Influence Policymakers: Legislators are more likely to act when they understand how policies directly impact constituents. Your story can be the catalyst for change.
• Highlight Real-World Challenges: Data and statistics are important, but personal experiences bring these numbers to life, making the case for reform more compelling.
• Find Local Support: Stories from constituents resonate with local representatives, making them more likely to champion your cause.

Partnering with Patients: We also encourage you to work with your patients who have been directly affected by these issues. Their stories can be incredibly powerful in showing the real-world impact of policies on patient care and outcomes.

How to Submit Your Story:

1. Identify the Issue: Consider the issues that have most impacted your practice or your patients. Examples include changes in reimbursement models, challenges with prior authorization, or the impact of telehealth on patient care.
2. Draft Your Story: Write a brief account of your experience. Include specific details highlighting your challenges and the outcomes for your practice or patients. Focus on how these issues have affected your ability to provide quality care.  Or, if you are ready to speak “off the cuff," record yourself with a laptop or mobile phone and send us the file using Google Drive, iCloud, SharePoint, Or OneDrive.  Start the video by introducing yourself and what practice you are with.
3. Patient Stories: If you have patients willing to share their experiences, please encourage them to write their own stories or collaborate with you to provide a comprehensive account.
4. Submit Your Story: Please send your stories to Matthew Glans at [email protected]. Please ensure that any patient information shared complies with HIPAA regulations and that you have obtained patient consent where necessary.
5. What Happens Next: After submission, our team will review your story and may contact you for additional details or consent to share it in our advocacy efforts.

Recording Your Story at LUGPA Meetings: To further amplify the impact of your stories, LUGPA will be offering opportunities to record your experiences at our in-person meetings. These recorded stories will be featured in our advocacy efforts and shared with policymakers to underscore the critical issues facing independent urology practices. This is another way for your voice to be heard and for us to bring the realities of your practice directly to those who can effect change.

Get Involved: Your stories are essential to our advocacy work. By sharing your experiences, you are helping to shape the future of urology practice and patient care. Together, we can make a difference.