Urology Resident Summit Attracts Record
Number of Attendees    

LUGPA’s Urology Resident Summit and Job Fair was held April 1-2 in New York City. More than 70 residents were in attendance, plus more than 60 industry partners and representatives from LUGPA practices were on site to participate in the job fair and exhibit hall. 

"Congratulations to program chair Dr. Sellinger and the LUGPA team!" said LUGPA president Jonathan Henderson, MD. "The Resident Forum was a smashing success! Job well done!" 

"I agree, it was a great event!" said Jason M. Hafron, MD, who also spoke at the event. "The venue was excellent. We got lots of great feedback.” 

The Summit covers topics PGY2, 3, 4 and 5 urology residents need to know, exploring employed urology, careers in private practice, academic urology, employment contracts and important questions to ask when interviewing. The program offered residents an opportunity to personally engage with key urology leaders from some of the largest independent urology practices in the country. LUGPA practice representatives were available in the exhibit area to discuss current employment opportunities at their practices.  

The two-day event ended with a bowling social event at a venue near Times Square where attendees could network and socialize in a fun environment.   

Click here to see photos from the Urology Resident Summit.

Save the date for the 2023 Urology Resident Summit and Job Fair in Chicago at the Fairmont Hotel, March 2-4, 2023. Registration will open in early 2023. 

PRACTITIONER SPOTLIGHT: 
Dr. Welchons Talks About Contract Negotiations

	Dr. Welchons

In this video interview, Daniel Welchons, MD, of Associated Medical Professionals of NY, PLLC in Liverpool, New York, talks about physician employment contract negotiations. 

Dr. Daniel Welchons received his undergraduate degree from Geneseo State University. He attended medical school at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He completed his surgical internship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and residency at the Harvard Program in Urology. As a senior resident, he was an instructor for the New England Urology Training Course in Robotic Surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston. Dr. Welchons was also involved with teaching students at Harvard Medical School. His research activities in residency involved studying different modalities of treatment for BPH. In July 2020 Dr. Welchons was designated as a UroLift® Center of Excellence. 

Watch the full interview with Dr. Welchons here.  

OPINION 

Private Equity Presents a Unique Model That Young Urologists Must Consider

Private Equity’s investment in independent urology has afforded me the opportunity to secure my future as a young partner.

Jason Hafron, MD  

Urology practices across the country are under increased pressure from regulatory requirements, insurance companies and government mandated reporting requirements.  These market pressures will continue to grow and make it more difficult for urologists to maintain ownership of their practices and remain independent from large health systems. As of March 2021, it is estimated that 7.2% of private practice urologists in the U.S. were employed by one of five private equity-backed platforms. Over 25% of all urologists practicing in New Jersey and Maryland are employed by a private equity-backed platform. This transition to large national platforms is a further extension of regional consolidation that has been occurring for the past 20 years.

	Dr. Hafron is Chief Medical Officer, Director of Research, Michigan Institute of Urology, P.C.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented many complex issues in practice management, but from these issues we’ve discovered that we can improve patient care and be more effective by supporting both physician and financial partnerships. In order to maintain the highest level of patient care and the highest quality of life for physicians, I strongly believe urologists need to retain ownership of their practices. In order to secure a successful future, private equity firms, a form of private investment typically aimed at buying and restructuring companies, need to partner with urology groups.

Private equity can help independent urology practices grow and consolidate so that they can better implement best practices, unleash new revenue opportunities, and more effectively compete in the marketplace. Furthermore, Private Equity firms work closely with urologists, leveraging their extensive business experience to develop operational improvements. Specifically, they integrate sophisticated business services which can include supply chain management, revenue cycle management, human resources, legal and information technology.

Apply Now for the Resident Clinical Innovation Award 

The Resident Clinical Innovation Award recognizes and celebrates urology residents' innovative clinical work that promotes - and has the potential to enhance -  quality clinical outcomes.

The recipient(s) will be recognized at the LUGPA Annual Meeting in Chicago in early November with a plaque and cash award of $1000. Travel expenses will be supported by LUGPA. 

Submission deadline is July 31, 2022. For details, visit the LUGPA website.   

Advocacy Update 

As the leading voice of independent urology group practices in the US, LUGPA educates policymakers on the benefits of integrated urologic care. LUGPA's Health Policy and Political Affairs committees drive grassroots efforts by developing thoughtful analysis and engaging public officials through comment letters on major legislative and regulatory proposals.

In case you missed LUGPA's Advocacy Update e-mail, here's some headlines from our most recent issue:

• Fly-in Recap
• Public Health Emergency extended  
• Telehealth flexibilities extended for most of 2022  
• Radiation Oncology payment model delayed
• No Surprises Act Updates 
• LUGPA suggestion adopted by GOP Healthy Future Task Force
• CMS Reweights 2021 MIPS Cost Performance Category

Click here to read the entire bulletin. 

Looking for an Archive of this Newsletter?

LUGPA launched this quarterly resident newsletter, Inroads, in 2020.   

Now you can go back and look at all the great content in one place – including previous Practitioner Spotlight video interviews with Kari Bailey, MD, Robert Jansen, MD, Benjamin Lowentritt, MD and others.   

Visit the newsletter archive here.  

Enjoying this newsletter? Forward it to other urology residents to let them know about all LUGPA has to offer.  

If you are not the direct recipient of this e-mail, sign up for future issues of LUGPA's Resident Newsletter here.