Leonard G. Gomella, MD, FACS, presented “How Academic Urology Institutions are Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic” for the Grand Rounds in Urology audience in March, 2020.

How to cite: Gomella, Leonard G. How Academic Urology Institutions are Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic” March, 2020. Accessed Apr 2024. https://dev.grandroundsinurology.com/how-academic-urology-institutions-are-coping-with-the-covid-19-pandemic/

How Academic Urology Institutions are Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic – Summary:

Leonard G. Gomella, MD, FACS, the Bernard W. Godwin, Jr., Professor of Prostate Cancer and Chairman of the Department of Urology at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, discusses how academic urologic institutions are coping with the COVID-19 crisis. He highlights how the pandemic has created an asymmetric practice model as cases go before an OR committee to determine which can be postponed and which need to go forward. This asymmetric model may affect relative value units (RVUs) as the year goes on, but Dr. Gomella emphasizes the need to care for patients in this time of crisis over worrying about the details of reimbursement. He further discusses the need to transition to telehealth but also recognizes that this is not a practical solution for some older patients who are not confident in their use of technology. Phone visits have proven to be an effective solution in these cases, as cross-state licensing rules have been temporarily abolished. Dr. Gomella also speculates on the potential need to suspend all truly non-life threatening surgeries and its impact on patients.

For other urology-focused information on the COVID-19 pandemic, visit our resource page.