MDNews - Greater Boston

PHOTO © RYAN RICHARDSON COVER FEATURE As part of Southcoast Health System, Southcoast urologists now have the ability to work very closely with other disciplines, such as oncology, which is more efficient for physicians and their patients. explains. "That makes the recovery time much shorter and more comfortable than it is for open procedures. We do minimally invasive surgery, with and without the robots, on a broad spectrum of cases." These laparoscopic procedures have significantly decreased hospital stays and recovery times. "Pyeloplasty, or renal reconstruction, used to mean a four- to six-day hospital stay when it was done in an open fashion," says Dr. LaRock. "Now we do it laparoscopically, and the patient stays one or two days. We can also remove kidney stones at the same time, effectively rolling two procedures into one. "Partial nephrectomies, especially those that are more superficial, can be done with a one- or two-day hospital stay, and once the patient is home, they get back to normal that much faster. With prostate surgery, there is much less blood loss, much less pain and the patient is up and moving around much faster." Supply and Demand Drives Efficiency Advances in technology and the resulting increased efficiencies come at a good time for the urology practice, as the laws of supply and demand are mandating more effective use of resources. "The number of graduating urology residents is actually declining," says Dr. LaRock. "So there are fewer doctors being graduated from training programs, 8 | Greater Boston MD NEWS I MDNEWS.COM and older doctors are retiring. At the same time, the number of baby boomers reaching the age at which they will need urological interventions is increasing. So we have to become more efficient. "Merging with Southcoast allows us to focus on our clinical practice. We don't have to worry about payroll or paying the rent and utilities. It also gives us a seat at the table when strategic plans are being discussed, so we have some input there. It has been a great jump for us." Another key benefit has been at the intersection of different clinical specialties. "At Southcoast, we are able to work very closely with other disciplines such as oncology," says Dr. LaRock. "It is more efficient for us and the patient. Performing prostate cancer surgery robotically gives very good results, and we can serve a lot of people." Southcoast is the area's only certified member of the MD Anderson Cancer Network. "The collaboration with MD Anderson Cancer Network provides approved physicians at Southcoast access to the evidence-based guidelines, treatment plans and concordance studies developed by the experts at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Network. These are disease-specific guidelines for cancer treatment, cancer prevention, early detection and follow-up care," says Dr. LaRock. "We have to meet very high standards to stay a part of MD Anderson Cancer Center, and we are doing a very good job of it." Big-City Technology in a Community Hospital The caliber of the procedures performed by Southcoast Urology rivals that of procedures done at Boston teaching hospitals, with the added advantage of being close to home. "Our experience with minimally invasive procedures and our affiliation with MD Anderson Cancer Network means we have the best and latest protocols, experience, methodologies and machines," says Dr. LaRock. "People on the South Coast can now get world-class care in their backyard. I think people in Fall River have known this for years, and it is incumbent upon us to let the rest of the South Coast region know. We are right up there with the big boys." Southcoast Health System sees the value of providing this level of care in the community hospital setting. "There are very few reasons for someone to have to leave the South Coast area for medical or surgical care," says Richard Miller, MD, Physician-in-Chief of the Surgical Care Center at Southcoast Health System. "Being able to get highquality care with a good outcome from a surgeon who lives in the community is a great model. "Patients are becoming much more savvy and taking more personal responsibility for their care and that of their loved ones. You can take any metric and hold it up to this group, and they exceed it. As urologists, they have a very broad and deep skill set, from very sophisticated minimally invasive cancer surgery to the full spectrum of prostate health care." According to Dr. Miller, the addition of Southcoast Urology is just the first step in building an even broader set of urologic services. "We are committed to building out the full spectrum of patient-centric care," he says. "We are expanding and want to make sure we are hiring not only people who are technically excellent, but also people we would want to send our loved ones to." To lear n more about Southcoast Urology, please visit www.southcoast.org or call 508-679-3131. I

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