The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on elective urological procedures in Australia

Objective: To investigate the changes in elective private urological procedures in Australia during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Methods: Data were extracted from publicly available datasets from Medicare Benefits Schedule using item numbers assigned to each commonly performed urological i...

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Main Authors: Athul John, Mustafa Mian, Subhashaan Sreedharan, Arman A. Kahokehr
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022-01-01
Series:Asian Journal of Urology
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214388221000734
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author Athul John
Mustafa Mian
Subhashaan Sreedharan
Arman A. Kahokehr
author_facet Athul John
Mustafa Mian
Subhashaan Sreedharan
Arman A. Kahokehr
author_sort Athul John
collection DOAJ
description Objective: To investigate the changes in elective private urological procedures in Australia during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Methods: Data were extracted from publicly available datasets from Medicare Benefits Schedule using item numbers assigned to each commonly performed urological intervention. These procedures were divided into three groups: Oncological therapeutic, diagnostic, and non-oncological therapeutic procedures. A smoothing model, based on the historic procedure numbers from 2017 to 2019, was used to forecast monthly number of procedures performed in each category between January 2020 and June 2020. These forecasted models were compared with reported figures. Results: A total of 108 169 procedures were performed between January 2020 and June 2020 based on the Medicare Benefits Schedule item numbers listed. There was a significant reduction (percentage change) in total procedures performed in April 2020 (−22.6%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −28.7% to −15.4%) and May 2020 (−33.2%, 95% CI: −37.5% to −28.3%). There was a significant reduction in oncological therapeutic, non-oncological therapeutic, and diagnostic procedures performed in April 2020 and May 2020 (p<0.05). These numbers did not include procedures performed in public sector. Conclusion: There was a significant reduction in total urological procedures (including diagnostic, oncological, and non-oncological) performed in months of April 2020 and May 2020 during time of federal restrictions. Both public and private healthcare sectors need to be supported in the upcoming months to prevent further delays in treatment and poorer clinical outcomes.
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spelling doaj-art-864b5c9e4a174f4bb96d3178a2ece9172025-08-20T02:25:47ZengElsevierAsian Journal of Urology2214-38822022-01-0191354110.1016/j.ajur.2021.07.001The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on elective urological procedures in AustraliaAthul John0Mustafa Mian1Subhashaan Sreedharan2Arman A. Kahokehr3Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia; Corresponding author.Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, St Albans, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaMelbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, St Albans, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaAdelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia; Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA, AustraliaObjective: To investigate the changes in elective private urological procedures in Australia during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Methods: Data were extracted from publicly available datasets from Medicare Benefits Schedule using item numbers assigned to each commonly performed urological intervention. These procedures were divided into three groups: Oncological therapeutic, diagnostic, and non-oncological therapeutic procedures. A smoothing model, based on the historic procedure numbers from 2017 to 2019, was used to forecast monthly number of procedures performed in each category between January 2020 and June 2020. These forecasted models were compared with reported figures. Results: A total of 108 169 procedures were performed between January 2020 and June 2020 based on the Medicare Benefits Schedule item numbers listed. There was a significant reduction (percentage change) in total procedures performed in April 2020 (−22.6%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −28.7% to −15.4%) and May 2020 (−33.2%, 95% CI: −37.5% to −28.3%). There was a significant reduction in oncological therapeutic, non-oncological therapeutic, and diagnostic procedures performed in April 2020 and May 2020 (p<0.05). These numbers did not include procedures performed in public sector. Conclusion: There was a significant reduction in total urological procedures (including diagnostic, oncological, and non-oncological) performed in months of April 2020 and May 2020 during time of federal restrictions. Both public and private healthcare sectors need to be supported in the upcoming months to prevent further delays in treatment and poorer clinical outcomes.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214388221000734CoronavirusUrologyCorona virus diseaseElective procedures
spellingShingle Athul John
Mustafa Mian
Subhashaan Sreedharan
Arman A. Kahokehr
The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on elective urological procedures in Australia
Asian Journal of Urology
Coronavirus
Urology
Corona virus disease
Elective procedures
title The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on elective urological procedures in Australia
title_full The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on elective urological procedures in Australia
title_fullStr The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on elective urological procedures in Australia
title_full_unstemmed The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on elective urological procedures in Australia
title_short The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on elective urological procedures in Australia
title_sort impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on elective urological procedures in australia
topic Coronavirus
Urology
Corona virus disease
Elective procedures
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214388221000734
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